TicketKick® Says New Traffic School Restrictions Give Drivers Even More Reason To Fight Ticket

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) July 28, 2011

Existing law in California previously allowed the court to allow anyone with a traffic violation to attend traffic school to clear their driving record, up to the discretion of the judge. Beginning July 1, 2011, a new law went into affect which severely limits the judge’s ability to grant traffic school to many drivers. TicketKick®, California’s leading resource for traffic ticket defense finds that many people in California in the past have chosen to plead guilty, pay their ticket and attend traffic school to keep their records clean, that is until they realized that they could hire a low cost legal service like TicketKick® to help them fight their ticket. California AB 2499, now in effect, places several restrictions on drivers who wish to attend traffic school, giving even more reason for drivers to contest their traffic ticket.

Up until recently, when drivers with a traffic ticket attended a court approved online or classroom traffic school, the conviction was dismissed from their driving record and did not appear as a ‘point’ against them. Under this new law, attending traffic school for the purpose of maintaining a clean driving record will “result in a designation of the driver’s conviction as confidential, rather than having the complaint dismissed” according to an AB 2499 bill analysis. This means that the driver’s ticket could still be seen by insurance companies or the DMV, viewable as a private violation.

This law will also prohibit drivers who receive more than one violation within an 18 month period to attend traffic school more than once within that period. In the past, many people would get away with attending traffic school for more than one ticket within 18 months because either the judge would allow it, or there would simply be a miscommunication between the courthouses. This new law will put a stop to this, as the courthouses will more communicative about the eligibility of a driver to attend traffic school. It requires the DMV to develop an online database accessible by all courts and by the traffic schools to allow oversight of student enrollments and completions, therefore keeping track of when a driver last attended traffic school. Furthermore, level two (12 hour) traffic school previously provided an opportunity for a driver to attend traffic school more than once during an 18 month period, when granted by the judge. This new law also puts an end to this option. Regardless of the county or courthouse, no driver will be allowed to attend traffic school more than once within 18 months for the purpose of keeping a point off of their driving record.

The number of tickets issued in California each year is estimated by several sources to be in the multi-millions. According to the AB 2499 Analysis, “the TVS (traffic violator school) option assists the operation of the courts by significantly reducing the sheer volume of potential court cases.”

“Simply put, the courts don’t want to deal with millions of trials,” says Greg Muender, President and Founder of TicketKick®. “A lot of people don’t realize that they have the option to contest their ticket through the mail through a trial by written declaration, because the courts don’t generally volunteer that option to people. But it is a very convenient legal procedure in California and we take advantage of it to the benefit of the drivers. Fighting a ticket through a trial by written declaration is an excellent place to start considering most cases are dismissed with our defenses, but even if it’s not, you can still resort to your option of requesting traffic school thereafter.”

If a driver chooses to attend traffic school, they must pay their full ticket fine, pay the court’s traffic school fee, and then pay the traffic school. The fee that the court imposes on a driver to attend traffic school may be increased to cover the fees incurred by a court assistance program (CAP) for monitoring and traffic administration services provided to the court.

A representative of IVES Auto Insurance said that a driver’s rates could be increased as much as 20% if they have two tickets within three years on their record, or for having a suspension due to any unpaid tickets. Mr. Muender of TicketKick® drives the point home: “Many people receive more than one traffic ticket within 18 months, it’s very common, especially with California’s ticketing increases. Our point is: Why use up your traffic school option when you can fight it first? Every ticket has potential to be dismissed, and our defense experts aggressively write defenses for most violations based on every aspect of the law. If you are found guilty, then you can resort to traffic school.”

TicketKick® is a registered Legal Document Assistant in California, providing self help services in traffic ticket defense, with a similar service model to companies such as LegalZoom and E*Trade. TicketKick® works with attorneys in California in developing their defenses, which utilize many different arguments and tactics. TicketKick’s goal is to help people get their traffic tickets dismissed, and although not every customer will win their case, TicketKick® offers a full refund and a free consultation for guilty verdicts. TicketKick® representatives can be reached at (800) 580-1902, at http://www.ticketkick.com, or at questions(at)ticketkick(dot)com.

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