The availability of technology in all facets of life has provided people with flexibility and a variety of options to choose from when doing almost anything. One can now even enroll into an internet traffic school that provides a traffic course over the internet rather than attending the course in person physically in a class room. This allows flexibility to students who can now complete the course at their own speed and time. However, the widespread availability of online traffic schools in the US has not equally been complemented with a standardization check to ensure that these courses do not vary significantly between different counties or states in terms of course material, length, student participation identification and validation process.

Why take a traffic school course?

The primary purpose of taking a traffic course, in a traditional class-room setup or online, is to maintain a clean driving history and avoid getting any negative points on your Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) record. Specifically speaking, completing a traffic school course will assist you in dismissing your traffic ticket and securing favorable insurance premiums.

California DMV Traffic School:

California is the first state to approve the ‘online traffic school’ back in 1996. Since then, each country and state has come up with their own online courses; however, the California DMV traffic school remains to be the premier in the industry in terms of their course structure, monitoring and delivery mechanism.

The state of California operates traffic school course both online and in the class room. However, the online course is built on a ‘word count’ system as compared to few others state which offers online courses on the basis of ‘number of hours’ spent (often a court requirement). Unless the court specifically instructs to take a class room course, an individual is at liberty to choose the method that best suits him. The trend now is to opt for the online course as it provides the comfort of completing the program from the comfort of your home.

Details of California DMV Course:

The course, whether online or in classroom, costs around $23, takes roughly around 6 hours to complete and covers the following topics:

California traffic laws (as different states have different laws); Defensive training techniques; and General tips to drive safely and responsibly

Once you complete the course, you will need to prove your knowledge by clearing a final exam. On successful completion, you will be given a certificate of traffic school completion. One of the key benefits of successfully completing the course is that it helps you in avoid receiving traffic tickets as the course curriculum teaches you all the basic Do’s and the Don’ts of driving a vehicle in California.

On a final note, if you are looking to enroll yourself in a traffic school course due to a court instruction, always verify your exact status and category with the local court as it will determine your eligibility to a particular type of course based on your driving history or any specific offenses you are trying to rectify.