How Do You Know You Are Eligible for Traffic School in Arizona

Arizona Traffic School is a Defensive Driving course approved by The Arizona Supreme Court. The course was created for drivers with traffic tickets issued for a violation from the state of Arizona’s list of eligible violations to remove the ticket from the driving record. A Defensive Driving course is for you if you received a court order to take a defensive driving course or you received a traffic ticket for a non-serious traffic violation. Several requirements need to be fulfilled to qualify for the course, but usually, the officer or court where your ticket is assigned can clarify whether you qualify for the course.  

If you want to apply for the course, you need to provide your traffic ticket and government-issued identification. The review and approval of the documentation can take up to one business day. Once your documentation and eligibility are confirmed, you have to pay the fees for the course. In Arizona, Defensive Driving course fees include:

• Court diversion fee varies depending on the case

• The state fee of $20.00

• The state surcharge of $45.00

• The defensive driving school fee varies depending on the school you choose.

Once you made a payment, you can start with the course. 

You can take the Arizona traffic school course online, so you only need internet access to take the course. The state of Arizona requires the Defensive Driving course to be at least 4 hours long and no longer than 4 and ½ hours to be approved and certified. As the course is online, you can adapt it to your availability, and you are not obliged to take the whole course at once. However, you can also take the course in person, and in some cases, the judge may order you to take the classroom course.

The Defensive Driving Course is focused on crucial driving topics, including Arizona traffic laws, rules on the road, proper vision techniques, defensive driving techniques, major criminal traffic violations, prevention of collision, and dangers of driving under intoxication. The course aims to strengthen your safe driving techniques and knowledge of traffic regulations. After passing the course, you have a final exam, consisting of 25, multiple-choice questions. You have 2 attempts,  and you need to have at least 80% to pass the test. Once you finish the course, traffic school electronically notifies the court about your completion and certificate.

To check your eligibility for Arizona’s Defensive Driving course, note the following requirements:

• You are not eligible if you were involved in a serious injury or fatal traffic accident.

• Your eligibility is based on the date of your received violation, so it is important that you have not attended a Defensive Driving course for a traffic ticket issued within the past 12 months.

• You have to complete the course at least 7 days before your Court appearance date. It is possible to ask for an extension, but it is at the judge’s discretion. Only one extension is possible, except in the case of extraordinary circumstances like illness or economic hardship. 

• You can attend the course only if the violation for which you received the ticket is on the list of eligible violations for the state of Arizona.

• If your violation is eligible, you can get only one traffic violation dismissed by attending the course.

• Serious injury or fatal accident violations are not eligible

• You do not hold a commercial driver’s license. If you do, you may be eligible for the course if you were not using the vehicle for commercial purposes, considering all of the above-mentioned criteria are met.

If you meet the requirements for the Defensive Driving course, upon its successful completion, you qualify for point removal, ticket dismissal, and insurance reduction. In most cases, once you pass the final exam, the traffic school certificate is processed and you are eligible for ticket removal, but in some cases, you need to bring the certificate to court to dismiss the points.

Depending on your insurance provider, your insurance premium may be reduced if you successfully passed the course and received the certificate. Also, if you want to dismiss the ticket you received in recent months, the insurance provider can get into your driving record history to determine the insurance rate, so you can still apply for insurance reduction. All in all, Arizona defensive driving course is a great way to refresh your driving knowledge and become a safer driver. Additionally, it is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to reduce points on your driving record.