Reader’s Question:

Hi I’m Harry from Melbourne, Florida and was convicted few days ago for DWI. I’m not actually certain if I’m eligible to take the traffic school course. How do I find out if I am?

Harry

Melbourne, FL

Thanks for asking Harry.

In many states, even if the court does not require the traffic school program for a DWI offense, the Department of Motor Vehicles will, in order to regain your driving privileges. The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) generally allows a driver to take traffic school course once every eighteen months. The eighteen-month period is counted from the date you received the citation to the date you receive the second citation, not from the date you went to traffic school. Completion of a DMV or Court-approved traffic school course, will remove the moving violation from your driving history record.

The courtesy notice sent to you by the court will determine if you are eligible for traffic school. You can be eligible for traffic school program if you have not attended traffic school within the last 18 months. If there are any correctable violations on your citation, these corrections must be received along with any fines before you will be authorized to attend a traffic school course.

States have different regulatory agencies who approve the traffic school course. These regulatory agencies have different rules on how often you can take driving education courses and the purpose of the courses can vary from state to state or court to court (insurance reduction, point reduction, etc.). When you register online for a traffic school course, the school will tell you whether the program is approved in your state or court. However, you should always verify with your state or court before completing a traffic school course. Just be sure to take care of it before your appointed court date or due date.