Online Traffic Schools to Avoid

Taking an online driving course is a risky proposition. Whether you’re getting a ticket dismissed, brushing up on the finer points of driving, or learning the ropes for the first time, picking the right online course is essential. Many states have begun offering an online option for people to get their traffic tickets dismissed via an online course, so the process is certainly becoming popular. Unfortunately, for every stellar online driving school, like iDriveSafely.com or Improv Traffic School, there are a wealth of imitators and shills looking to cash in on a growing trend. You’ll need to avoid these sites if you want a satisfactory traffic school experience.

Learning the broad strokes of driving from the comfort of your own home is possible. The keyword here is “research”. You simply can’t waste time and money on a bad program. It’s not just inconvenient, it’s dangerous. Bad teachers teach bad skills, and driving is one activity you’ll want to perfect.

Most online driving courses offer a money-back guarantee of some kind (with varying degrees of reliability as to if they’ll actually follow through). You can usually sign up for free, but be wary of giving out your personal info. Nothing’s really free on the internet, and after a couple hundred spam emails, you might regret handing out that email address. On the plus side, online traffic courses allow you to complete the program at your own pace. You can log in and log out whenever is convenient, and they usually feature interactive charts and videos that can help stave off boredom.

If you pick the right program you’ll do just fine studying the fine art of driving.

On that note, here are a few traffic schools you should absolutely stay away from at all costs.

1. Comedy Traffic School

 

There’s a special kind of obnoxious that only appears in informational videos that are trying too hard to be funny. Driving schools are always going to have a few “goofy” videos that try to make the finer points of parallel parking “fun”, but Comedy Traffic School takes the whole concept way too far. The website, “starring” a smiling man named Erik Estrada, tries very hard to make learning entertaining. Props to them for giving it the old college try, but at some point, it just starts to feel unprofessional. You’re here to get in, learn some good info about traffic, and get out as quickly and painlessly as possible. You don’t need to hear someone’s bad impressions while you do it.

In addition to the generally obnoxious attitude, the website is way too eager to take your money. Yes, they have a “free to try” option if you’ll hand over your email, phone number, and shoe size, but the site isn’t exactly shy about where it wants you to put your credit card info. There’s also an annoying little fake chatbox that appears in the corner of the screen to try to make it look like someone’s there talking to you in real-time.

The phrase “trying too hard” comes to mind. The site might be popular but if you’re planning on getting your traffic course handled online, pick somewhere a bit more professional than Comedy Traffic School.

2. Traffic School To Go

 

So now we move from “trying too hard” to “barely trying at all”. To be fair, Traffic School To Go is one of the oldest traffic courses on the internet. It has maintained a high rating with the Better Business Bureau since its founding in 1997, and it offers one of the lowest prices of any site of its kind at only $20 with no hidden fees. If cheapness is your goal you’re on the right track.

Unfortunately, thriftiness comes with a price. In this case, that price is boredom. Immense amounts of it. Traffic School To Go is as bland as traffic schools get. They make a halfhearted attempt at entertainment with the odd animation but on the whole, it’s just numbers, numbers, numbers. You can’t expect traffic school to be a roller coaster ride full of thrills but just a little more effort into sprucing up the presentation could have gone a long way towards getting this site a recommendation.

Moreover, Traffic School To Go has you complete a final exam before you pass. You can breeze through it, it’s extremely easy, which begs the question why the test is necessary in the first place. It’s just another bland roadblock you have to suffer through if you want to get that parking ticket off your record.

3. Traffic School Online

One of the top results on Google for online traffic schools, Traffic School Online is a poorly optimized mess of a website. The main site works fine on a standard desktop computer screen, but it does not adjust for tablets or smartphones, so you’re going to have to settle in at your desk.

The courses require you to install Flash, so if you’re working on an Apple product or don’t feel like downloading new software so you can learn about stoplight etiquette, you’ll have to find an alternative.

Even more distressing, the website features fake reviews and ratings from “users” who rave about the site’s customer service and give five-star ratings to all of the site’s content. Fake reviews, sadly, are not as uncommon on the internet as you might think, but Traffic School Online takes it too far. What are they trying to hide here? Why can’t they just post honest reviews?

The fake reviews alone should be enough to make you avoid Traffic School Online. You don’t want to reward that kind of dishonesty.

4. Ticket School

Traffic School Online is a messy website but Ticket School is an absolute train wreck. Tiny, cramped text, obnoxious animated banner ads, and long load times make this site feel like it was designed by some freshman computer science major for his first exam. Apart from looking downright ugly, Ticket School offers some extremely outdated courses. That’s downright irresponsible. You can also find spelling mistakes, sound effects, and a general rushed attitude to every aspect of the site’s design.

If the site’s creator didn’t care enough about Ticket School to do spellcheck, why should you bother giving them business? Trust us, give this one a pass.

Here’s What You Should Look For In An Online Traffic School

To find a good, reliable online traffic school, here’s a checklist of what you should look for:

  1. Years of operation: Check if the school has been around for at least 5 years. This will give you an indication of how well they fare with customers.
  2. State Approval: Some schools won’t provide clear information about state approval. They might say that they offer a certificate, but it might not be recognized by your local court at all. So make sure to double-check if the school you’re enrolling in clearly states that the course is state-approved in your state.
  3. Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating: Scores on BBB will give you an indication of course quality. So make sure to check out both positive and negative reviews. Schools like iDriveSafely have an A+ rating on BBB.
  4. Money-back Guarantee: Enroll in a course that is risk-free, meaning they offer a full refund if you’re not satisfied with the course.
  5. 24/7 Customer support: Ensure that the course offers 24/7 customer and technical support through a method that is convenient for you, like live chat, phone, or email.
  6. Certificate filing: Go for a school that has a clean track record of fast certificate processing and filing. Schools like  Go To Traffic School and Aceable offer same-day processing where they’ll automatically send your certificate to the local court.
  7. No hidden fees: Make sure that there aren’t any sneaky hidden fees for features that you’ll be needing, like certificate filing or unlimited test retakes. Improv Traffic School offers certificate filing and unlimited course retakes at no additional cost.
  8. Pricing: Check if the course follows state standards on traffic school course fees. It should be below or at least match state minimum requirements.

There you have it! Make sure that your online traffic school of choice ticks all the boxes on this checklist.

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