Montana Traffic Violations

If you get caught committing a traffic violation by a Montana city police officer, sheriff's officer or highway patrolman, you will be required to settle the matter with the local Montana municipal court overseeing the jurisdiction where you received your citation. Your citation will explain to you how to go about doing so and include contact information for the local Montana court you will need to pay. Montana courts accept, in person or vial the mail, cash, checks and, in most cases, credit cards.

If you want to dispute your traffic violation or request an opportunity to have your traffic violation reduced or dismissed, you will need to appear in court. Your court date will be provided on the traffic citation issued to you by the Montana law enforcement officer. Be sure to show up on that date and on time if you don't intend to pay your ticket immediately, as failure to do so can result in a bench warrant for your arrest and possible suspension of your Montana driving privileges while the matter is being resolved.

Montana Points System

The Montana Motor Vehicle Division ("MVD") tracks points against your Montana driving record in order to ensure that you do not pose a threat to the safety of other Montana drivers. Depending on how many and what traffic violations you incur in a given time period, your license can be suspended or revoked. Below is a non-exclusive list of points attached to your Montana driving record for commission of common traffic violations:

• Failing to obtain a Montana driver's license: 2 points
• Ignoring a traffic signal: 2 points
• Failure to observe the speed limit: 3 points
• Failing to maintain proper insurance: 5 points
• Reckless driving: 5 points
• Driving with a suspended license: 6 points
• Driving Under the Influence: 10 points

For each violation you are found guilty of committing, these points will attach to your Montana driving record for three years from the date the traffic violation was issued (DUI convictions last for five years).

Suspension of Your Montana Driving Privileges

The Montana MVD is somewhat lenient compared to other states in the amount of points that can accumulate on your Montana driving record before your license is suspended. However, if 30 points are attached to your Montana driving record in a 3-year time span, the Montana MVD's Records and Driver Control Bureau will revoke your license. While in some states, participation in a defensive driving program can spare you from having your license suspended at this point, in Montana, such a course will only cut in half the high fees you will pay to have your license reinstated.

Payment of fees may not be all you are required to do. Most likely, the Montana court handling your current violation or the Montana MVD will detail several potential requirements you must fulfill, including community service, temporary restrictions on your license moving forward, and your required participation in a Montana traffic school or driver improvement program.

Attending Traffic School in Montana

The best way to avoid having your Montana driving privileges suspended is to keep traffic violations off your record altogether. If you have committed a traffic violation, one way to do this may be to request a reduction or dismissal of your traffic violation in exchange for participating in a Montana online traffic school or online driver improvement program. While the Montana MVD will not exchange removal of your traffic violation from your Montana driving record for your enrollment in such a program, and the Montana MVD also does not generally allow online traffic school to satisfy any court-or-MVD-ordered traffic school enrollment, Montana courts have jurisdiction over your pending conviction.

Thus, if you are cited with a traffic violation and you appear in court, you may be able to request such an arrangement. Almost certainly, any such opportunity will depend on your sincerity before the court, your previous Montana driving record and the nature and severity of the current traffic violation before you. Nonetheless, by appearing in court and asking the court if a Montana online traffic school or online driver improvement program can keep a traffic violation off your record, you may be able to prevent a future suspension of your Montana driving privileges in addition to costly insurance premium hikes that are certain to accompany your newly acquired traffic citation.

The Benefits of a Clean Montana Driving Record

It is important to maintain a clean Montana driving record if at all possible, and a Montana online traffic school or online driver improvement program may help you do that. In addition, you will learn important driving techniques that can make you a safer, smarter and more defensive driver. These skills not only help you avoid future accidents and traffic violations, but your participation in a Montana traffic school or online defensive driving program that teaches you these skills shows your auto insurance carrier that you are serious about being a safe driver. This, in turn, will keep your auto insurance costs low.

Montana Mature and Juvenile Drivers

Your auto insurance provider may even offer you an insurance discount to enroll in a Montana online traffic school or Montana online driver improvement program. Many insurance carriers offer discounts to older and younger drivers in an effort to improve their safe driving habits and help them prevent future traffic incidents.

If you are a Montana Mature Driver over 50, or a Montana Juvenile Driver under 18, or you have a mature driver or juvenile driver in your household, you should contact your insurance carrier to see if an insurance discount is available by your successful participation in a Montana online traffic school or Montana online driver improvement program.

Montana Classroom Traffic Schools

Many people may want to participate in a Montana traffic school, driver improvement program, or defensive driving course, in a more traditional classroom setting. Or, you may have been ordered by a Montana municipal court or the Montana MVD to enroll in a Montana traffic school that requires you to attend in person. To obtain a list of Montana traffic schools and Montana driver improvement programs that the Montana court overseeing your traffic violation has previously authorized or accepted, you should contact the Montana court handling your citation.

In addition, the Montana MVD has pre-approved the following brick-and-mortar traffic school to participate in if the Montana MVD has ordered you to do so:

Rocky Mountain Traffic School
P.O. Box 825
Livingston, MT 59047