That's interesting, one of mine was dismissed because the sheriff didn't respond and the other I was found guilty for speeding but court ordered to attend traffic school since I had just attended traffic school 6 months prior. When I called the court to find what exactly that meant, the clerk said it is a good thing. No points will show on my record even though I was found guilty but the ticket is visible to the insurance company. As of today, my insurance rates have not gone up. I guess it is a hit or miss. Also, if the verdict via trial by written declaration is not in your favor you can still go to court to fight it.

BTW, did you request traffic school if the decision was not in your favor?

 

How about this . . .forget wasting 8 hours of your life and spend a lil' bit more money and you can get a real certificate of completion by an authorized traffic school. Of course I am not going to explain this on a public forum, so please PM if you want details. Latez!

-SaV 1

 

If the county in which you recieved the ticket does not allow on-line traffic schools, ask if you can take it by mail....

 

Hey SilverSurfer,

Yup, requested either a fine reduction (no go) and/or traffic school (no go) if I was still found guilty. Plus, it took about several months for them to process.... (WTF?!?). Got the ticket in late November, got the verdict in March. This is Santa Clara Traffic Court....

 

does santa clara county allow web course?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Flayer
[B]Hey SilverSurfer,

 

Hi. I am probably a lot older than most you. I raced my then new 240 -Z in 1971 on a Can- Am track called Briar. To the Point I often sit a Judge Pro Tempore for San Mateo County and thought I might clear up a lot of misinformation about traffic court

Each County has different policies with regards to traffic school. I can only speak with authority about San Mateo County. A defendant has several options: A.) Pay the full amount of the bail ( fine) by mail and accept the point count or pay the fine and if you qualify attend traffic school. Successful completion of which will prevent your point count from increasing and therefore not affect your insurance rating. B.) Attend court in person for arraignment. Plead guilty. The judge will give you a reduced fine for taking the time to appear in court( unless your record is Really bad). The reduced fine is not guaranteed , but pretty standard by policy. You may also ask to go to traffic school at that time, and if you qualify the Judge will allow it. ( Note, going to traffic school does not relieve the defendant from paying the fine. Traffic school charges are in addition to any fine). C.) Either by mail or in person, plead not guilty . A hearing date will be set. At the trial if the arresting officer does not appear the charges for minor infractions are dropped- again by policy. If the defendant has a very bad record or the charges are serious, the judge may continue the case to give the officer another chance to make his case. Officers appear most of the time. There is a downside to pleading not guilty in hopes the officer will not appear. If the officer does appear and the defendant is found guilty, he or she will not be allowed to go to traffic school (except in unusual circumstances where the defendant makes a particularly good defense but still loses the case). D. ) Where the defendant has a very bad record, does not qualify for traffic school and simply cannot afford another point on their DMV record, they should consult an attorney who might be able to arrange a plea bargain with the court which keeps the additional point of their record. I hope this helps. Don't go crazy out there and you won't need this information.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Landeses
[B]C.) Either by mail or in person, plead not guilty . A hearing date will be set.

 

Landeses - Thanks for the info.

Maybe you could shed some light on a related topic.
I recently heard about something called repeat offender traffic school (or something to that effect).
I was told that is a 12 hour version and that it is only available in 2 areas in calif.
I was also told that you can attend as often as necessary!
Have you heard of this? Is there any truth to this?

Thanks!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MajorHavoc
[B]Landeses - Thanks for the info.

Maybe you could shed some light on a related topic.
I recently heard about something called repeat offender traffic school (or something to that effect).
I was told that is a 12 hour version and that it is only available in 2 areas in calif.
I was also told that you can attend as often as necessary!