Good online traffic school?

July 8, 2006 6:44 AM

Got a ticket for running a red light, want to go to traffic school. Are any online traffic schools better than the rest, or does it not matter?

I found out I can go to traffic school online, but the information I received from the San Joaquin County (California) court lists a whole bunch of online traffic schools from which they will accept a certificate.

Can anyone recommend a "good" online traffic school? Does it even matter? Thanks!

posted by DakotaPaul to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

I've used two different ones in CA, neither one distinguishable or memorable.
posted by mzurer at 7:39 AM on July 8, 2006

I took a defensive driving course offered by the National Safety Council. I was able to go through it as fast as I wanted (as I recall). On the other hand, I recall doing it one afternoon where I needed to be sitting around at a work site doing nothing, babysitting a system and waiting for the phone to ring, so I was actually getting paid for the time that I spent doing the course!
posted by intermod at 11:36 AM on July 8, 2006

I used TrafficSchool.com (#2018 on that list) just a couple of weeks ago. It's the only online traffic school I've ever used, so I can't compare it to any others, but I was satisfied. You don't have to complete it all at one time (although I did). You can go through the entire course before paying - though you have to pay, of course, before you can take the final exam and get your certificate. I got through it very quickly, didn't run into any problems, and received my certificate in the mail very quickly. I also appreciated that I was able to verify my identity online (although that method is optional).

With my certificate, I received a coupon code that is supposed to be good for $5.00 off. If you want to try it, the code is: TICKET.

(Don't you just love the internet? I went to "real" traffic school when I was 16, and this beats hell out of that!)
posted by thatgirl at 11:16 PM on July 8, 2006

Don't think a defensive driving class is what DakotaPaul is talking about, intermod. In California, points aren't reported to the insurance company if you complete an eight-hour Traffic School class. It's a wonderful bit of left-coast redemption and I think it's great because it gives attendees a Drivers Ed refresher -- it's one reason why California drivers are so good, IMO.

Er, I've been through it several times now. And I'd never do it online, because another benefit is you get to be part of an amazingly diverse demographic sampling, and by the end of the session we've all bonded and learned from each other in the classroom discussion.

May be different out in the San Joaquin valley, though -- probably not near as many options there as in LA or the Bay Area, where in many jurisdictions you can even attend Comedy Traffic School.
posted by Rash at 11:24 PM on July 8, 2006

I have used 2 different ones in California and don't remember anything special about either.

Call your courthouse for the list of online schools they accept (or maybe San Joaquin Co. has a list online). Every county's different.

I ended up finishing mine in 2 hours, because I'm a quick reader and because I cut and pasted all the text into a word doc and then used Find to look for the key words in the quizes.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:52 PM on July 8, 2006

thatgirl, thanks for the coupon! I was thinking the same thing -- it's great that I can take care of this without leaving home. Technology is a wonderful/sucky thing: I got nailed by an electronic red-light camera, was able to view a video online of me running the light, paid the ticket online, and can do traffic school online.

small_ruminant, I'll definitely give the cut-and-paste trick a try. :-)
posted by DakotaPaul at 8:36 PM on July 9, 2006