Oklahoma Traffic Violations

If you are driving in Oklahoma and are unfortunate enough to get caught violating an Oklahoma motor vehicle statute, you will receive a citation containing information on how to proceed. The traffic ticket should contain most of the Oklahoma court contact information you need to resolve the situation, particularly the local Oklahoma court with authority over your Oklahoma traffic violation.

Your Oklahoma traffic citation will inform you of the ways you can pay your ticket, most likely by mail or in person. Your Oklahoma traffic citation should include the appropriate Oklahoma address where you can present yourself to pay in person or mail in your fine.

You may also wish to appear in court on the arraignment date assigned for you, which will also be provided either on the traffic citation. By appearing before the local Oklahoma court handling your violation, you have the opportunity to arrange a date for trial. You should know, however, if you wish to appear in court at trial to discuss or dispute your traffic violation, you will have to post a small bond in the amount of $35. As long as you present your bond receipt at trial, your bond will be returned to you.

While appearing in front of an Oklahoma court for a brief trial will require more time and effort on your part, it will also provide you with an opportunity to explain your situation and request that the court consider reducing or dropping the traffic violation against you. Most likely, a court will consider heavily your previous Oklahoma driving record and the nature of the traffic violation in question before giving you an opportunity to earn some sort of reduction or rescission of the traffic violation.

Oklahoma Points System

The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety ("DPS") manages a "points" system to maintain an accurate history of your Oklahoma driving record. Your Oklahoma driving record is used not only by the Oklahoma DPS to determine the status of your driving record, but the DPS also shares the information with insurance providers, which then use your Oklahoma driving record to determine the cost of your insurance premiums. In general, you incur points against your Oklahoma driving record each time you commit a traffic offense that is heard, decided and reported by the local Oklahoma court handling the traffic violation to the Oklahoma DPS. Below are a summary of common points attached to Oklahoma drivers' records:

• Speeding by less than 25mph: 2 pts
• Ignoring a Yield Sign: 2 pts
• Running a Stop Sign: 2 pts
• Tailgating: 2 pts
• Careless Driving: 2 pts
• Speeding by more than 25mph: 3 pts
• Passing a Stopped School Bus: 4 pts
• Reckless Driving: 4 pts

While incurring points against your Oklahoma driving record for a single traffic violation may not seem troublesome, if you commit just a few traffic violations in a brief amount of time, your Oklahoma driving record could amass 10 points. If this happens, the Oklahoma DPS will immediately suspend your license.

Suspension of Your Oklahoma Driving Privileges

When your Oklahoma driving record has 10 or more points against it at any one time, the Oklahoma DPS will mail a written notification to the address on your driver's license that your Oklahoma driving privileges has been suspended. If your traffic violation is of a serious nature, such as causing an avoidable accident and failing to administer aid to another driver injured in the accident, your license could be permanently revoked.

Attending Oklahoma Traffic School

The Oklahoma DPS does offer an opportunity to prevent your Oklahoma driving privileges from being suspended. Most of the time, the Oklahoma DPS will allow you to participate in an Oklahoma traffic school or driver improvement program and, by participating in an Oklahoma traffic school, you can have the traffic violation reduced or possibly even removed from your driving record. Both of these options, made available to you simply by attending Oklahoma traffic school, substantially decrease the possibility of an increase in your insurance rates and an accumulation of points on your Oklahoma driving record that can eventually lead to suspension or revocation of your Oklahoma driving privileges.

In addition, the Oklahoma DPS will preemptively remove two points off your Oklahoma driving record if you wish to take an Oklahoma traffic school or defensive driving program outside of an Oklahoma court or Oklahoma DPS order. While there are many good reasons to take a defensive driving program, you may only participate in an Oklahoma defensive driving program once every two years to have points taken off your record.

Further, you may be able to participate in an online traffic school to satisfy Oklahoma DPS requirements. The Oklahoma DPS has deemed several online Oklahoma traffic schools, online Oklahoma driver improvement programs and Oklahoma online defensive driving programs as qualified under Oklahoma state regulations. However, if you are interested in taking a particular Oklahoma online traffic school or Oklahoma online driver improvement program, you should contact the local court overseeing your traffic violation and ask if the Oklahoma online traffic school you are interested in will satisfy Oklahoma state requirements, or if the local Oklahoma court has already approved that course.

In certain circumstances, your local Oklahoma court or the Oklahoma DPS may order you to participate in an online defensive driving program provided by the Oklahoma Safety Council, in connection with the State of Oklahoma Court System. The Oklahoma Safety Council's eight-hour online class isn't available to the general public, but will fulfill this potential court order with relative ease.

The Benefits of Oklahoma Traffic School

Attending an Oklahoma online traffic school or Oklahoma online driver improvement program to help clear up your Oklahoma driving record is not only important for removing points on your driving record. Oklahoma online traffic school and Oklahoma online driver improvement programs help you avoid expensive traffic and license reinstatement fines, can potentially eliminate traffic offenses from your record entirely, prevent the Oklahoma DPS from permanently suspending or revoking you Oklahoma driving privileges and help lower car insurance payments. By keeping your Oklahoma driving record free of as many traffic offenses and points as possible, you eliminate the reasons for your auto insurance provider from implementing drastic hikes in your insurance premiums.

Oklahoma Mature Drivers

Certain drivers may even qualify for an insurance discount prior to incurring a traffic violation by enrolling in an Oklahoma online driver improvement program. Many Oklahoma insurers will consider offering Mature Drivers, drivers of ages 55 and older, discounts for establishing a track record of trying to improve their defensive driving skills and overall safe driving techniques. If you are an Oklahoma mature driver, you should contact your Oklahoma auto insurance carrier to find out if a discount for actively participating in an online Oklahoma traffic school or driver improvement course.

Oklahoma Juvenile Drivers

Oklahoma Juvenile Drivers, drivers under 18 years of age, may also find themselves eligible for lower insurance premiums by successfully completing a Oklahoma online driver improvement course. All online traffic school and driver improvement programs provide some form of certificate of completion, and presentation of that certificate to your Oklahoma auto insurance carrier could result in lower premiums immediately and lower premium hikes in the event of a future traffic accident or citation. You should contact your insurance carrier to see if attending an Oklahoma online traffic school can keep you or a juvenile driver in your household from paying higher insurance costs than necessary.

Oklahoma Classroom Traffic Schools

Alternatively, if you want to participate in a traditional classroom where you can attend and learn in person important defensive driving skills and techniques, you can contact the local Oklahoma court handling your traffic violation for a list of approved brick-and-mortar schools, or reach out to the Oklahoma DPS at (405) 425-2424.