Did you recently receive a moving violation in Oregon? You may be able to keep it of your record if you go through traffic school, which is also known as a defensive driving course. Provided you meet the requirements, you can complete the traffic school and avoid having the ticket go on your driving record through what the state calls its Traffic Safety Diversion Program.
Oregon has two traffic school options for qualified drivers, which are classroom traffic schools and online traffic schools. However, residents of Oregon must take classroom programs.
Classroom defensive driving courses take place at a commercial driving school with a driving instructor, and you typically complete the course in one day.
Online courses are available through online providers. One major benefit of taking online traffic school is that it offers more flexibility so you can work it into your own schedule.
Oregon has slightly different rules regarding traffic schools than many other states, with the most significant difference being that if you're taking traffic school to get a ticket dismissed, you need to contact your traffic court first to obtain authorization . The good news is that because of this, you don't need to worry about checking eligibility requirements or taking traffic school only to find out that you aren't eligible to get your ticket dismissed. The court will check that for you when you contact them.
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Each court in Oregon has its own eligibility requirements for traffic school, but there are a few requirements that apply throughout the entire state. You aren't eligible for traffic school if you have a commercial driver's license. If you were driving at a speed over 100 miles per hour, you also aren't eligible, as that type of violation is too severe for a dismissal. Oregon also doesn't allow you to get a ticket dismissed through traffic school if you've had other moving violations or have already gone through another traffic school program in the previous 3 years. Also different rules may apply for Oregon SR22 insurance so its important to read up first.
Provided you're eligible for Oregon's Traffic Safety Diversion Program, you also need to follow a specific process to participate in it. First, you need to waive your right to a trial and then plead no contest to any charges. If you have multiple charges, you're only able to get one of those offenses dismissed. Then, you must fill out a diversion agreement. For this agreement to be valid, you need to request your point diversion before your citation's court appearance date and submit the diversion agreement within 14 days after that date.
A point diversion requires you to pay 100 percent of your ticket within 90 days of filing the diversion agreement. It's important to pay within 90 days anyway, because otherwise the court may charge you additional fees and suspend your license. You also need to take a traffic school program that the court approves within that same 90-day period.
Traffic schools have a fee, and you pay that to the provider of the program prior to taking the course. Programs are typically a few hours long, and will cover a wide range of topics. While course content varies from program to program, you can expect any program to cover defensive driving techniques and traffic laws in Oregon.
You can benefit quite a bit from what you learn in traffic school. The defensive driving techniques offered will show you how to drive safer, which can reduce your risk of accidents or tickets. While you may feel that you're up to date on all Oregon's traffic laws, you may find that there were some rules of the road that you didn't know about.
It's common for traffic school programs to include a final exam that covers information on the course. If your program has a final exam, then you'll need to pass it to successfully complete the program. You'll obtain proof of completion after you finish the course. The traffic school may automatically report your completion to the court, but you should get in touch with the court 2 weeks after finishing the course to make sure. If the court hasn't received anything from the traffic school, then you can simply provide them with your proof of completion to get your point diversion.
The diversion period is 90 days after your court date, and it's important that you follow all traffic laws during this time. If you get another ticket, it could prevent you from getting your point diversion.
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