Reader’s Question:

I live in California, and was required to attend a traffic school because I was arrested for DWI. How much does it usually cost to take a traffic school course online?

Miles

Alhambra, CA

That’s a good question, Miles. In California, a DWI arrest will result in the requirement that the offender take an alcohol education program or a traffic school course. The online traffic school course has essentially replaced the walk-in course, for reasons of practicality, convenience and cost. Standard classroom traffic school courses may charge similar rates but don’t offer the same comfort of an online traffic school course that fits any busy schedule.

The courts will usually demand a traffic school administrative fee, separate from the traffic ticket bail, to be allowed to take any California online traffic school course. This fee does not cover your online traffic school course in any way. These online traffic schools are a privately-operated industry and you will be required to pay a traffic school course fee whether you attend it in a classroom setting or select any California online traffic school course.

In finding the best online traffic school for California drivers, there are factors to be considered. Most especially is the approval status by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or your court, or your insurance company. Once you know the approved traffic school, it will just be easy to find online courses on the Internet.

The cost of taking offline traffic school differs by location: various courts may assign different fees, and the schools themselves are permitted to assign minimal fees of their own. Most online traffic courses cost somewhere between $10 and $20. Plus, California regulations state that traffic school must consist of at least 400 minutes of instruction, so you’re saving more by staying at home with your computer and Internet access available.