Washington Traffic Violations

Washington motorists who receive a speeding ticket or other traffic violation may be eligible to take traffic school in order to reduce or eliminate the traffic violation from their record. If you are given a traffic ticket in Washington, you have the option of paying a fine for the infraction, or appearing in the Washington court overseeing your traffic violation.

Deferments

If you have a completely clean driving record, Washington courts will allow you to appear in court and request from a judge a deferment from your Washington driving record, though you will still have to pay the violation fine. The judge reviewing your traffic violation will decide whether to provide you a deferment, which is contingent on you not receiving another moving violation for one calendar year. Washington courts will only allow you to request one deferment from your driving record every seven years, so if you have been issued a relatively minor traffic violation in Washington, you may not wish to seek a deferment in the event you experience a more serious traffic violation in Washington in the future.

If you are convicted of the traffic violation and do not seek a deferment, the Washington court will notify the Washington Department of Licensing and the violation will appear on your driving record, often called a Washington motor vehicle report, "MVR" or a Washington driving history.

Suspension of Licenses

If you commit four traffic violations within a twelve-month span, or five traffic violations in a 24-month span, your driver's license can be suspended by the Washington Department of Licensing. However, participating in an online traffic school course may help you reduce or remove traffic tickets from your Washington driving history.

In order to remove a traffic violation from your Washington driving history, you can appear in the Washington court handling your traffic violation and to find out if you can take online traffic school or a Washington online defensive driving course, or you can call the court overseeing your traffic violation to ask to enroll in a Washington traffic school program, Washington defensive driving program, or Washington driver improvement program. Your traffic ticket will contain all the information needed to contact the Washington court that is handling your violation. By enrolling in a Washington online defensive driving program, you can have the traffic violation removed from your Washington driving record, and possibly have the ticket dismissed altogether. You should ask the judge or court reviewing your traffic violation if and how online traffic school can help you accomplish this.

The Benefits of a Clean Washington Driving Record

Keeping your driving record clear in Washington is the best way to avoid fines and prevent your license from being restricted, suspended or revoked. However, you can also lower your auto insurance by maintaining a clean Washington driving record. By keeping traffic violations off your Washington driving history, you also help keep your insurance premiums low. Your auto insurance provider may even grant you a good Washington driver insurance discount if your driving record remains clean for several years.

Mature Driver and Juvenile Driver Insurance Discounts

This is particularly the case if you are a juvenile driver under the age of 18 or a mature driver over the age of 50. Taking online traffic school is a great way to have traffic violations reduced or taken off your Washington driving record entirely. Finally, online traffic school also helps you advance your driving skills and develop better defensive driving techniques that will help avoid traffic accidents and violations in the future.

Washington Classroom Traffic Schools

If you would like to attend traffic school in a classroom setting, Washington courts may also allow you to enroll in a traditional classroom program if they approve you for a defensive driving program. Because enrollment in defensive driving programs is allowed only on a case-by-case basis, Washington does not provide a list of pre-approved classroom traffic schools.