The term "Traffic schools" refers to companies that offer a short course (usually between 4 and 8 hours) designed to educate drivers in defensive driving strategies and concepts. Traffic schools are also sometimes called defensive driving schools, driver improvement schools, collision avoidance schools, or accident prevention schools. Some states have specific names for courses taught by traffic schools; for example, in New York, traffic schools teach the Point Insurance Reduction Program, and in Virginia traffic schools are called driver improvement clinics.

What types of courses do traffic schools teach?

Traffic schools teach a wide variety of courses, from auto insurance discount programs to courses designed for drug offenders. In most cases, people seek out traffic schools because they want to get a a traffic ticket "dismissed," mask points (i.e. keep traffic ticket points from negatively affecting their insurance rates), or because they have been ordered by a judge or court to attend a traffic school course. The latter reason is commonly referred to as court ordered or judge ordered traffic school attendance.

In some cases, people attend use traffic schools voluntarily in order to reduce their automobile insurance premium or to accrue "safe driver points." Safe driver points are permitted in some states to offset negative points that a driver receives from a traffic ticket. Traffic schools that offer these types of courses are sometimes known as auto insurance discount schools.

Traffic schools in some states, such as Florida and Virginia, offer courses that are required for other reasons. For example, in Florida, drivers who have caused two or more crashes within a two-year period or who have caused a crash resulting in more than $500 damage are required to attend a Traffic Collision Avoidance Course (TCAC). TCAC is not a special type of traffic school course, but rather the same 4-hour Basic Driver Improvement course that a person would elect to attend to dismiss the points from a Florida traffic ticket. The only difference is that traffic schools offering TCAC must note "TCAC" as the reason for attendance on the student's completion certificate, or the completion will not be registered properly with the State.

Fleet training traffic schools provide general defensive driving instruction designed to reduce corporate losses from traffic crashes. This type of traffic school attendance is voluntary and is conducted in order to fulfill the requirements of an employer. Fleet training or business and industry training allows traffic schools to assist companies in obtaining a comprehensive auto insurance discount for their employees who drive company vehicles.

Are traffic schools regulated by the government?

In most states, traffic schools are regulated by a state government entity such as the Department of Motor Vehicles. There is no federal oversight of traffic schools, nor does the federal government develop minimum standards for the approval of traffic school programs, as such standards are developed at the state or county level (if at all).

Many people (and even some state agencies) erroneously believe that traffic schools are regulated by the National Safety Council. The National Safety Council does offer traffic school programs, but it is not a government entity. In addition to the National Safety Council, most states have multiple safety council chapters that serve their local area (these might or might not be part of the National Safety Council). While many of these chapters are non-profit organizations, they are not government entities. The National Safety Council does not have any regulatory authority over any traffic school programs other than the programs that it owns.

Many online sites that are owned by private traffic schools are designed in such a way that they appear to be official government websites. These sites typically mimic the design of a site operated by a state DMV, and often contain the phrases "stateof" or "dmv" as part of their primary URL. Consumers should be advised that information found on such sites is not generally monitored by any state government agency and could contain inaccuracies. Legitimate state agency websites will usually end in a .gov extension and will include information confirming that they are the official site for that particular state agency. (For example, see http://www.flhsmv.gov, the official state site of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.)

Whom should consumers contact if they have complaints about particular traffic schools?

Since most traffic schools are privately owned businesses, you can direct your complaint to the Better Business Bureau chapter in your area. For traffic schools regulated in your state, you can also contact your state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or the equivalent (sometimes the Department of Transportation). Complaints can also be directed to the office of the attorney general in your state, particularly if you believe that you are the victim of a scam, bait and switch advertising, or unfair treatment.