Keeping Your Driving Record Clean: Online Traffic School


No one wants to go to traffic school - after all, eight hours in a stuffy room, sitting on uncomfortable chairs and watching outdated, gory videos of the devastating results of reckless drivers isn't exactly an ideal way of spending a Saturday afternoon. Sure, sometimes an instructor is fun and witty, making the experience bearable, maybe even enjoyable. But, most people aren't willing to relinquish a whole day. Time is simply too precious a commodity.

Mike P. Welch knows all too well the realities of some walk-in traffic school experiences, having completed traffic school in August of 2005. In addition to an uncomfortable facility, Welch had to contend with disinterested fellow students and grossly outdated course materials.

"The instructor had us watch a video that was from the 1970s and a big segment was on call boxes, which I felt was irrelevant, considering the majority of the population now has cell phones," he says.

Instead of fostering an atmosphere of learning, "half of the students didn't want to be there and were distracting to the learning process," Welch says. "I didn't appreciate the social stigma of having to reveal my violation in front of a classroom of people. I felt like I was there to be punished, instead of improving my knowledge of traffic laws."

Fortunately, those who are ordered to traffic school or to a defensive driving course, in exchange for wiping points off their driving records, have an alternative to a long day of traffic school. Online traffic and defensive driving schools are becoming exceedingly popular, particularly in California (including among Los Angeles traffic school and San Diego traffic school), Florida and Texas.

Skeptical? Those who have never taken an online course will quickly find it's a fast, easy and effective way to complete traffic school. In fact, statistics prove that online traffic school works. In 2004, more than a third of the 500,000 people ordered to complete traffic school in Florida did so online. Ninety perfect of those who completed the online traffic course passed the final exam.

Compared to Welch's experience with walk-in traffic school, Travis' experience with online traffic school was so effective and so inspiring that he founded Ticket Relief Traffic School (TicketRelief.com). "Not only was the course a breeze, but I actually refreshed my knowledge of California driving and learned a couple new driving laws I didn't know about," he says.

As he researched and learned more about online traffic schools, his belief in the effectiveness of online traffic school was only reinforced. "I found several studies that showed students were able to concentrate better with an online class versus a traditional walk-in school. The studies showed that students who used a computer to take an online traffic school course exhibited a smaller amount of distractions compared to a classroom setting. The students using the computers produced a higher level of concentration and higher test scores than the students in a classroom setting."

Indeed, more and more people are discovering the vast advantages of fulfilling their court requirements by completing online traffic school:

- It's easy. Simply register, pay for the course and get started.

- It's safe. Many online traffic schools, such offer 128bit encryption to ensure safe credit card transactions.

- Save time. Students can complete their online course in as little as six hours, sometimes less.

- Finish the course at leisure. With online traffic schools like students can save their work and return to it at a later time, unlike traditional traffic school when all work is completed in one session. Of course, those who want to complete the course in one sitting are welcome to do so. In fact, many students have access to the course for 160 days from the time they register.

- Use any computer. Start the exam on the library's computer and finish it on a home computer. As Long as you have a computer and internet connection, the course can literally be done anywhere.

- Save money. Online traffic schools are typically much cheaper with rates ranging from $17 to $50.

- Discounts. Some traffic schools such as Ticket Relief offers discounts to senior citizens, students, members of the military and AAA members.

- Consistency. A few online traffic schools promise students each time they take the course they receive only the highest quality reading material, quizzes and final exam.

- It's comprehensive. Students will receive a refresher course, covering traffic laws and other pertinent information. Many courses include five sections, each ending with a quiz that allows students to gauge their level of comprehension of the course material. The quizzes also help students prepare for the final exam.

- Worry-free. Students who fail the final exam needn't worry as some traffic schools allow the retaking of the exam with a 160 day time limit.

Students who have never taken an online course needn't worry. Most traffic schools provide customer service either via a toll-free number or email, or both.