Can I Do Traffic School for a Speeding Ticket?
Written by Danielle Thompson
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYS DMV) created the Internet Point and Insurance Reduction Program (IPIRP), which allows New York drivers to attend an approved online traffic school course to avoid a point penalty on their driving record and receive a guaranteed insurance discount.
If you received a speeding ticket or other citation in the past 18 months, you may be eligible to reduce the point total on your driving record by completing an Online Defensive Driving Course. Defensive driving courses, sometimes called traffic school, provide a refresher on New York driving laws and teach other useful knowledge and defensive driving skills.
In addition to completing traffic school for point reduction after a speeding ticket in New York, the course can also earn you a 10% mandatory auto insurance discount. Read on to learn about the benefits of traffic school and the types of tickets, violations and citations that are eligible for point reduction.
Am I Eligible for Traffic School?
Any person may attend traffic school. Even if you don't have a traffic violation on your record, it is important to keep up to date on New York laws and defensive driving techniques. Only speeding tickets and violations received within the last 18 months are eligible for point reduction. Points from earlier violations or future violations will not be affected if you go to traffic school.
You may attend traffic school as often as you want, but you may not have more than four points reduced in any 18-month period.
Some traffic violations require license revocations and suspensions. In these situations, point reduction will not help you keep your license. Examples of violations that require license suspension include receiving three speeding citations within 18 months and convictions involving alcohol or drugs.
For more information about license suspensions and revocations, view this NYS DMV publication.
How Does Point Dismissal Affect My Driving Record?
Once you complete Defensive Driving training, your completion status will be reported to the DMV. The active point total on your record will then automatically be reduced by up to four points. It usually takes about 10 weeks for NYS DMV to update your driving record after you attend traffic school.
According to the NYS DMV, completing defensive driving school does not “remove, delete, subtract or erase any violation, conviction or notice of original number of points from your driving record.” While the points will not be completely removed from your record, the reduced points will not count toward penalties like license suspension or revocation.
If your license has already been revoked or suspended due to accumulating 11 or more points on your record, traffic school will not reverse that action. Point reduction does not affect points from earlier violations, cannot be used to prevent future violations and cannot reduce your point total lower than zero.
How Many Points Will I Receive for Speeding?
Every time you get a speeding citation, points are assigned to your driver license. The table below shows the point values assigned to each speeding violation.
| Speed (MPH over posted limit) | Points |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | 3 |
| 11-20 | 4 |
| 21-30 | 6 |
| 31-40 | 8 |
| Over 40 | 11 |
If you accumulate 11 or more points in 18 months, you will be called for a DMV court hearing, after which your license may be suspended or revoked. If you receive more than three speeding violations in 18 months, you also face license suspension or revocation.
How Does Online Traffic School Work?
Our Online New York Defensive Driving Course provides an overview of New York driving laws and safe driving strategies. The course is approved by the NYS DMV as a part of the Internet Point and Insurance Reduction Program.
The online traffic school course contains a minimum of 5.5 hours of instruction and covers topics like:
- New York laws
- Common causes of accidents
- Consequences of impaired driving
- How to share the road
- Defensive driving skills
After each of the four modules in defensive driving school, you will need to pass a brief quiz. You have three chances to pass each quiz. Traffic school does not have a final exam. You must complete your training within 30 calendar days of registration.
Once you have successfully completed the course, your completion will automatically be reported to the NYS DMV. We will also mail you a certificate of completion to provide to your insurance company.
It may take up to 10 weeks for the DMV to process your completion. Once processing is complete, up to four eligible points will be reduced from your record. You may retake this defensive driving course every 18 months for point reduction if you receive another speeding ticket or traffic violation.
Course completion also qualifies you for a mandatory 10% car insurance discount, which may be renewed every three years. To redeem your discount, submit your completion certificate to your insurance provider. You can contact your insurance agent to learn more about how to properly submit your certificate.