WHEN TO ATTEND TRAFFIC SCHOOL
Effective 7/1/10, Florida drivers
are limited in the number of traffic
school elections they make in order to
avoid points on their driving record to no
more than 5 in a lifetime.
In my opinion, there are two
times you should consider attending a
traffic school to get points removed from
your record. The “Numero Uno” time
to attend a traffic school would be to
avoid having points assessed if you are
in danger of having your license
suspended for points.
Under the Florida point system your
license will be suspended if you receive:
12 points within a 12 month period,
18 points within an 18 month period, or
24 points within a 24 month period.
There are automatic suspensions
for DUI and you’ll be REQUIRED to go
to driver school, pay fines, do
community service and probably spend a
night in jail, so please don’t go there! A
cab is cheap at twice the price!
Scroll down for the point count
system used by the State of Florida.
Florida uses the same point count for
violations that occur out-of-state or in a
federal court and Florida has
“reciprocity” with most other states.
That means other states will report your
“out of state” violations to Florida and
those tickets will eventually appear on
your Florida driving record. To the best
of my knowledge, out-of-state violations
and the associated points can not be
excised by going to traffic school.
The second time to consider
attending a traffic school to get points
removed from your record would be
for receiving a ticket for unlawful
speed 16 MPH or more over the
lawful or posted speed. Speeding is a
contributory factor in 40% of all
accidents and for that reason, most
insurance companies in Florida typically
surcharge almost as much for a “major”
(16 MPH +) speeding ticket as they do
for an accident and that surcharge will
be applied to your insurance rates for 35
to 36 months. Why? Speeding
decreases the stopping-sight distance and
increases the accident probability AND
the severity of an accident. The
difference between backing into
someone in a parking lot and slamming
into them at 75 MPH is obvious. The
faster you are going, the worse the
accident will be regarding bodily injury
and property damage. Also, some
experts suggest that for every speeding
ticket received, the individual has
actually been speeding 5 or 6 times and
simply didn’t get caught. If you get a 16
MPH + (major) speeding ticket without
a concurrent accident, pay your fine,
elect to go to school and go to school,
submit your certification and SLOW
DOWN! The requirements are all time
bounded, so don’t put it off. And for
heaven’s sake, don’t sign up for traffic
school and fail to attend in a timely
manner or your license will be
suspended!
Unless your license is in danger
of being suspended for points, I suggest
you do NOT elect traffic school for an
At Fault Accident. Why not? If you had
insurance at the time of the loss there’s a
99.9% chance the accident will show up
as a claim under C.L.U.E.
(Comprehensive Loss Underwriting
Exchange), Lexis-Nexis, or one of the
other data miners insurance companies
use for underwriting purposes. Your
current carrier will obviously know
about the accident if they settled the
claim, but most other carriers will learn
about it as well, due to the insurance
exchange of information. The accident
will be chargeable by most companies
for 35 or 36 months unless you can
prove it wasn’t your fault. Going to
school won’t erase the accident, only the
ticket for failure to yield, or following
too closely, speeding or whatever was
the proximate cause of the accident. Nor
will attending school prove you weren’t
“at fault”.
Don’t speed. Don’t drink, or text or talk on your cell phone & drive.
Texting and cell phone usage while driving is equivalent to driving while
impaired! Buckle up before you start!
Below is a list of some of the points assigned by the State of Florida. These ARE NOT
the same point counts charged by insurance companies for various violations but are the
point counts the State uses to suspend licenses.
Florida License Violation Points
Leaving the scene of a crash resulting in property damage of more than $50
Unlawful speed resulting in a crash
Reckless driving
Any moving violation resulting in a crash
Passing a stopped school bus
Driving during restricted hours
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Unlawful speed – 16 MPH or more over lawful or posted speed
Violation of a traffic control signal/sign/device
(If camera enforced, no points will be assessed.)
Unlawful speed – 15 MPH or less over lawful or posted speed
All other moving violations (including parking on a highway)
Violation of curfew
Open container as an operator
Child restraint violation
Source: www.flhsmv.gov/handbooks
COLLINS INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
We are passionate about “Guarding Your Treasure”!
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