Attending traffic school for ticket dismissal, deferral or reduction purposes is a valid way to protect your driving privileges and save you valuable money. Online and in-person driving school for tickets and other traffic infraction-related issues is mandatory in some situations and optional in others. Enrolling in a traffic school for tickets is also not possible in some U.S. states, and is especially dependent upon the nature of the ticket you were given.

Traffic school is also referred to in multiple other ways, including safe driving class and a defensive driving course. It costs money to attend a defensive driving course so it is therefore crucial to evaluate the benefits of signing up.

If traffic school is mandatory as ruled by a judge in traffic court the obvious benefits include avoiding further fines and possible jail time. When traffic school is optional, it is important to compare the costs of the class to the costs of the punishment and/or fine you are attempting to reduce or have waived.

Attending traffic school for ticket deferral purposes might be a requirement to get the result you seek. Completing traffic school might also be a way to reduce reckless driving charges or first-time DUI ramifications. 

First-time offenders or drivers cited with minor infractions are more probable to receive traffic school-related leniencies from a court.

Getting your ticket cost reduced instead of waived is another possible positive outcome from engaging in safe driver status-related classes or programs. A judge might also determine evidence against you is weak, but not weak enough to dismiss your charges entirely. Traffic school might be a way to bridge the gap between full-on ticket dismissal and fully paying for an infraction where you were not at fault. 

Defensive driving programs vary in cost and availability per U.S. state. When available, the benefits of attending traffic school might include:

• Preserving your driving privileges.
• Reducing the length of your suspension.
• Reducing or completely negating applicable fine amounts. 
• Reducing or removing demerit points against your driving record.
• Reduced auto insurance premiums or other safe-driving discounts.