Some tickets are more difficult to get out of than others. Sometimes, a few corrective actions will eliminate tickets completely. Attending traffic school is a good way to get out of some common, basic traffic infractions. Contrary to what your neighbor’s brother’s girlfriend might say, mailing in a ticket and accepting the consequences might not be your best bet. Below, we’ve collected a couple reasons why going to traffic school might be a good idea for your case.
Traffic School: Is it Important?
Insurance
A downfall to paying tickets and fines without trying to fight them is the residual insurance spikes. Insurance companies can raise your rates when you get tickets and fines, especially when points on your license are involved. Traffic school will certainly lessen the amount of points you will receive on your license. While this is only true under certain conditions, it does apply to the majority of those with traffic tickets.
License Suspension
The common traffic violations will not suspend your license. One or two infractions will not interfere with your daily driving habits. However, if you have repetitive violations that consequently add up the points on your license, traffic school might be best. Having a certificate of attendance to show the judge during your hearing shows you’re taking the proper actions. Additionally, you can tell the judge what else you’ve done to drive more carefully.
Fines and Fees
Anytime you see those blue lights behind you, you can almost guarantee money leaving your wallet as quickly as those lights are flashing. This does not have to be the case though! You can usually get a reduction in fines with the condition of traffic school attendance. Even better courts will sometimes let you attend the schooling in lieu of a fine, but only sometimes.
When trying to decide if the time and money spent on traffic school is worth it, look at the longer term. Your driving record will suffer a hit because of one simple traffic infraction. Monetarily, your insurance rates will increase for an undetermined amount of time. The spike in rates will not be worth your one time traffic school fee. Keep these factors in mind when deciding if this decision is best for you. In most cases, it is.