What you need to know about traffic school classes.
- Traffic Citation – Remove points to avoid suspension and prevent an insurance increase (if no accident was involved where your insurer made a payout).
- Insurance Discount – Check with your insurance company to see if they accept a state approved 4-hour Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) course and receive up to 10% off your annual insurance premium for up to 3 years.
- Court Ordered Violations – Effective October 1st, 2009, certain offenses became mandatory traffic school offenses. If you’re eligible to elect, do so quickly and complete the class before the state notification is issued. Once the letter is generated you no longer receive the benefits of election.
- Traffic Law & Substance Abuse Education (TLSAE)– This 4 hour course must be taken before an unlicensed driver can take the written test to obtain a permit to drive. No driving may legally take place without a state issued permit. This course is commonly referred to as a “Drug and Alcohol Course”.
If you’ve received a traffic ticket for a moving violation, our DMV-Approved, 4-Hour Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) class, recognized in all 67 Florida counties, will:
- Remove the points from your license for the offense
- Keep your safe driver status in place
- Prevent an insurance rate increase (if no crash was involved)
Reserve a seat to attend a state approved defensive driving course today at one of our convenient classroom locations by calling (352) 442-7642
Remember!!!
- You have 30 days from the date of issue to pay your ticket. Traffic School must be elected when the ticket is paid. Once paid, Traffic School for point reduction is no longer an option if an election was not made.
- You may elect to attend traffic school for the purpose of ticket/point reduction once in a rolling 12 month period, and up to 5 times in a lifetime. The date you last paid a ticket and elected Traffic School establishes the start date of the rolling 12 month period. You may check your eligibility to elect traffic school by clicking “HERE”.
- You have 60 or 90 days (depending on the county) from the date the ticket was paid and the affidavit signed, to complete traffic school and return the completion certificate to the Clerk’s office in the county where the ticket was issued. Missing that time window will result in your license being suspended, and additional steps and expense will be required for reinstatement.
- If you mail the certificate, follow up with a phone call 3 to 5 business days after mailing to verify their receipt. Document the date and time the call was made and who you spoke to. If the certificate is lost in the mail or miss-sorted in the court house mail room, your license will be suspended! It’s your responsibility to follow up!
- If you have a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) you may not elect traffic school. Consider taking the course for an insurance discount if you see your rates increase.
- If you were traveling 30 + over the speed limit you can’t elect traffic school as you must appear in court.
- When completing the class before paying the ticket, remember that all documents must be returned within 30 days from the ticket date to avoid license suspension and additional penalties. DON’T BE LATE!!!
- If you take OUR classroom course, you’ll walk away with your certificate to return to the County Clerk’s office.
- If you take online traffic school allow 3 to 5 business days for the certificate to arrive in the mail. RETURN IT TO THE CLERKS OFFICE!
About Traffic School Online!
Consider the following when deciding between a classroom or online course.
Classroom instruction:
- Allows for questions and clarification between instructor and students resulting in a more meaningful learning experience than online can offer.
- Uses the most current information about traffic safety and laws that change regularly, whereas online material is often old and out of date.
- Doesn’t require a test and takes 4 hours. All online state approved courses require a passing test score to verify understanding and retention of the material presented, hence it will take more than 4 hours.
- Presents the certificate to the student at the end of the course. Online courses must mail the certificate to you or may offer expedited mailing for an additional fee.
If you do choose the online method, pay close attention to the material to avoid failing and investing a great deal more time than you expected.
Be a smart consumer, and recognize that some schools use “creative” advertising and pricing schemes to take your money, therefore avoid the online courses promising low rates/prices because that advertised price of $7.95 will quickly climb to $40, $45 or more once the “additional fees” in small print are added in. We try to keep it simple and provide you with what we advertise up front.
Please feel free to give us a call and we’ll do our best to answer your questions.
Thank you for considering SunCoast Traffic School for your traffic school needs! We Care About Your Safety!