Traffic School Goes High Tech

For most people, time is their most precious commodity. In fact, there's often never enough time in the day to get everything done and people face packed schedules from the time they wake up in the morning until the time they go to bed. Sometimes, however, the unexpected happens: like getting a traffic ticket. Getting a traffic ticket means one of two things: having that black mark placed on your driving record or completing to keep your record clean. Keeping your record clean once meant having to attend walk-in traffic school: eight full hours, usually on a Saturday, watching videos and listening to an instructor. For lucky students, the instructor is charismatic and makes the afternoon more bearable. Some walk-in traffic schools try to entice drivers to their schools with promises of pizza and comedy. But, even for the promise of a couple of slices of pizza and a few laughs, drivers just aren’t willing to sacrifice their days. Fortunately, drivers have an alternative to traditional walk-in traffic school: one that will keep their driving record clean and spare them a wasted day. More and more drivers – hit with traffic violations – are turning to online traffic school or online defensive driving courses, a burgeoning industry that is poised to one day make walk-in traffic schools a thing of the past. It's a simple process: register for online traffic school, pay the fee and get started. Many drivers can finish the course in between four and six hours, sometimes less with many schools even offering students the ability to start and stop the course at their leisure. Online traffic school offers convenience – something those strapped for time so desperately need. Ellen Koka, a mother of two, simply had no time to waste in a traditional walk-in traffic school setting so she turned to an online traffic school as the only alternative. She was able to finish her course in only a few hours while her children were on a playdate. "Online, traffic school was the best way to get my traffic school requirements done," she says. Earl Jamison also knows all too well how hectic life can be. A father of two with a full-time job, Jamison had already sat through two walk-in traffic courses when he was hit with another traffic ticket. This time, however, he was no longer willing or able to spend eight hours in a classroom. So, he turned to the internet. “The fact that I could take traffic school whenever I wanted was just too convenient to pass up,” he says. “The advantages are obvious: convenient, inexpensive and being able to log in and out whenever I had the time was awesome,” Jamison continues, “I would even go as far as to say that I learned much more from this than I ever learned in any traffic school classroom course I'd taken in the past.” Jamison, who vows he’ll turn to online traffic school in the future, isn’t the only one who's enjoyed success with online traffic school. Cal Spinney turned to online traffic school when he was hit with a traffic violation. “For my personal style of learning and working, the online flexibility and freedom trumps any advantages that might be offered in a rigid and structured classroom environment,” he says. Online traffic school also tends to offer updated material compared to that offered at traditional walk-in traffic schools. For example, many schools such as TicketRelief.com updates its material annually, to ensure clarity and effectiveness. Mike P. Welch understands the importance of updated material. He attended traditional walk-in traffic school, only to find that much of the material was outdated. “The instructor had us watch a video that was from the 1970's and a big segment was on call boxes, which I felt was irrelevant, considering the majority of the population now has cell phones,” Welch says. Welch, too, vows to use online traffic school should the need arise. It's plain to see that online traffic schools will continue to grow in future years to come. Especially as our lives are becoming increasingly busier and the internet is now more and more common place in nearly every household across the globe.

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How To Find A Legitimate Traffic School

Having a healthy dose of wariness when it comes to purchasing products or services online is often necessary to protect yourself from scams and dishonest businesspeople simply looking for an easy way to make money. Checking out a company – an online traffic school or defensive driving school, for example – is essential to ensuring you get what you are promised before you hand over your hard-earned money. Online traffic school offers drivers an easy, convenient way to fulfill their court requirements for traffic violations. An increasingly popular alternative to traditional classroom-based traffic school, online traffic school helps students avoid having costly points placed on their driving records. Of course, with the rising popularity of online traffic schools came the expected onslaught of companies and websites, claiming to be legitimate online traffic schools. Today, the Internet is literally wall-to-wall with thousands of online traffic schools, all promising the same thing: an easy, inexpensive way to complete your traffic course. The problem is not all of those online traffic schools are legitimate, so it's important to exercise caution when searching for the right traffic school. The good news is it's easy to tell if an online traffic school is, indeed, legitimate. "To tell if a traffic school is certified, you can look at the courts list (handed to every student going to take traffic school). The courts list can sometime be found online at the county courts website or at the court house with such lists only holding online traffic schools that are certified. Online traffic schools are approved in different ways depending on the state and county. In California, there are about three to four monitoring companies that have contracts with the courts to monitor and review California traffic schools/online traffic schools. Each monitoring company has a handful of counties to monitor and approve/certify. Florida and Texas are different; everything is handled through the DMV. The DMV would approve/certify a traffic school." It's important to keep in mind that some online traffic schools will advertise they are certified when, in reality, they are not. Don't take their word for it unless they're on a court-approved list. Instead, ask which organization certified the online traffic school, and contact that organization to verify the certification. A quick hint that an online traffic school may not be all that it claims is grammatically sloppy, poorly written course materials. Online traffic schools must meet strict qualifications before they are certified. Their course materials - which average between 100-150 pages – are rigorously inspected to ensure they meet curriculum, law and grammatical standards. Once an online traffic school has effectively met those standards, it is certified and can begin business. Another effective way to determine if an online traffic school is legitimate is to check its website for the official Better Business Bureau logo. To become a member of the BBB, businesses are subjected to extensive background checks. If an online traffic school you are considering is a member of the Better Business Bureau, you can contact the BBB to determine if there have been any complaints against the school. This is a good way to both determine if the online traffic school is legitimate and if it provides consistently good service.

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Battle of the Traffic Schools: Traditional versus Online.

The cost of driving increases every year and due to this most drivers are often willing to do whatever it takes to keep their costs down. That means going to traffic school if they commit a traffic violation. Traffic school saves drivers from having points added to their driving records, a necessary step to ensuring that already hefty insurance rates don't skyrocket.

Fortunately through the use of the internet, today's drivers aren't forced to go to a traditional classroom traffic school as they once had to. No looking up streets and driving for hours... simply grab your favorite coffee (or tea) and pull your seat up to the computer to get started. New online traffic schools such as TrafficRelief are now making the task of doing such courses quick, easily and much more affordable. (Most online traffic schools charge anywhere from $17 to $50.)

But to give you an even better idea of all the pro's and cons, let's look at the following.

Traditional Traffic School

Social Interaction. Some critics of online traffic schools say that there’s simply nothing like a classroom setting for traffic school or any school for that matter and to some extent, this is true. Students who opt for traditional traffic school will have the chance to interact with their fellow students and the class instructor. For some people, especially those who thrive in social settings, this is often the ideal way to learn.

The biggest advantage to traditional traffic school may well be the social interaction, especially if the instructor is good. A charismatic instructor can excite students and make the day-long course not only educational but also fun.

Immediacy. If a student has a question, all he has to do is ask and he'll have an immediate answer. Information that is unclear can be discussed and clarified for students immediately, instead of them having to call an 800 number or having to wait for a return email.

One session and it's done. Traditional traffic school requires students to appear on the day of the class, participate throughout the day, complete the final exam, and that's that, if the student passed the final exam. There's no room for procrastination or thoughts of, "Oh well, I'll just do it tomorrow." Further, information will be fresh in the students' mind when they take the final exam.

Certificate is awarded immediately. Students who opt for walk-in traffic school will receive their certificate of completion immediately following the session, an added bonus for those students who put off taking the course until the last minute.

Of course, there are also disadvantages to attending walk-in traffic school. No one knows that better than Mike P. Welch who completed a traditional walk-in traffic course in August 2005. In addition to having to shuffle his schedule to fit traffic school in, Welch found that much of the course material was grossly outdated.

“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.

According to Welch, students were also required to reveal their ticket violations in front of the class. This ultimately led to some students, like Welch, feeling as though the course was more of a punishment than an opportunity to learn.

Finally, anyone who remembers high school likely can recall those one or two annoying students in the back of the class, out to give the teacher a hard time and cause a distraction. At first, it might be funny but then it just gets downright annoying. Unfortunately, those students who attend walk-in traffic school risk having to deal with such annoyances. “Other students were a distraction. Half of the students didn’t want to be there and were distracting to the learning process,” says Welch.
Welch – like thousands of other drivers before him – has already decided he'll opt for online traffic school if he ever receives another traffic violation.


Online Traffic School

The popularity of online traffic schools and online defensive driving courses has some questioning the future of the traditional walk-in traffic school. Of course, there will likely always remain the traditionalists who will swear by walk-in traffic school. But, more and more people are discovering the vast advantages of fulfilling their court requirements by completing online traffic school.

Saves time. It’s a simple fact that time is a precious commodity and most people simply don’t have enough of it. Online traffic school allows students to complete the traffic course at their own pace.

It’s easy. There’s no roll of the dice and crossing of fingers, hoping against hope that the instructor is going to be interesting and enjoyable. With online traffic schools students know they’re going to receive clear, detailed instructions and easy-to-understand, comprehensive course materials. Questions can be answered quickly with a phone call or an email to a customer service representative.

It’s convenient. Complete traffic school anytime – wearing pajamas, lounging on the couch or in the middle of the night. It doesn’t matter. Online traffic school is generally available 24/7, allowing students to complete the course at any time.

It’s worry-free. Online schools make taking an online traffic course a breeze – students need only a computer and an Internet connection. Registering is simple and safe.

As with anything, online traffic school does have its disadvantages. In some instances, students don’t immediately get their certificate, but most online traffic schools promise next-day delivery of the certificate for an additional shipping fee. However, some counties process the completion certificate electronically and require students to simply call the court to confirm the certificate was received. A list, of counties that electronically process certificates, can be obtained by calling the court.

Those who opt for online traffic school won’t have the same advantage of being able to get immediate answers for questions they have, however online traffic schools respond in only a few hours.

Ultimately, the best way for students to decide which option is best for them is to consider each option carefully, talking with traditional traffic schools and also checking out online traffic schools.

Some people will simply not choose online traffic school because they learn best in an interactive environment such as traditional traffic school. Still others will swear by the ease and effectiveness of online traffic school. When it comes down to it, choosing the right traffic school all depends on the student’s individual personality, needs and preferences.

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