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Best Online Traffic School: The Fastest and Cheapest Defensive Driving Options

Need to complete traffic school one to get back on the road? Save time with online schools! Find our picks for the best online traffic school of %currentyear%

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Here in the US, we are a car culture. We drive often and take pride in our ability to get up and go wherever, whenever.

But when a traffic violation or court order forces us to stop driving, that freedom is taken away from us.

Luckily, traffic school doesn’t have to be a huge expense or time commitment – particularly if you take it online.

Today, we’ll look at the fastest, best online traffic schools to help you get back on the road in no time!

Best Online Traffic School

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Fly through the course (or take it slow if you prefer) with our easy-to-follow material. It’s designed to fully prepare you and make the final exam a cakewalk (we mean it - 99% of our students pass on the first try).

  • 12 Modules With Easy-To-Follow Material
  • 4-Question Quiz
  • 25-Question Final Exam
  • 24/7 Live Chat
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We’ll go into all the details about why we chose these as the best online traffic schools and even offer a few more choices later in this guide.

The Benefits of Traffic School

There are a lot of reasons you may need to take a traffic school class (also known as defensive driving courses).

  • Reduce or eliminate ticket fines–Perhaps you got a ticket, and want to get it dismissed. Hey, we all make mistakes. In many states, traffic courts are willing to reduce or eliminate your ticket fines if you complete a traffic school course.
  • Improve your driving record–Maybe your driving record is less-than-ideal and you want to improve it. Many states will let you eliminate or reduce points added to your driving record from a traffic ticket if you complete a defensive driving course. Not sure how your driving record looks? You can check here.
  • Lower your insurance rates–Some insurance providers offer drivers a discount if you complete a defensive driving course. That’s because insurance companies use your driving record to determine your rates; so if you take online traffic school and get your record cleaned up, you could save big. Even if you have a good driving record, you may still get a discount for taking defensive driving courses. Most insurers offer a 5-10% discount for completing a course, and most states actually mandate that insurers provide at least some sort of discount.

Regardless of your reasoning, it’s best to take defensive driving online so you can get it done with quickly and conveniently.

The last thing you want to do is spend your weekend sitting in a classroom.

Thankfully, this list of the fastest online traffic schools will help you get your course done in the shortest time possible.

We’ll help you find the best online traffic school 2019 in the guide below.

Why Take Traffic School Online?

It might seem odd to take an online traffic school course, but it’s the better route in most cases.

Here’s why:

1. State Compliant

The best online traffic schools are fully licensed with state governments, and they customize their courses to fit with the individual requirements of each state.

Thus, a class for California drivers might be a lot different than a class for Texas residents.

The bottom line is that these classes follow the same rigid guidelines laid out by state governments, and provide essentially the same material as a traditional traffic school class would – just in a much more efficient (and affordable) manner.

2. Convenient

Traditional traffic school forces you to be physically present for a series of classes, offering little room for flexibility.

Conversely, online traffic schools let you work at your own speed, completing courses on your computer or smartphone whenever you have the time.

You can stop and pick up where you left off, and everything is synced up flawlessly between devices.

3. Quick

If you go to a traditional traffic school course, you’ll have to sit through boring lectures and may spend many hours wallowing in boredom and frustration.

Online options are generally quicker.

Some states may still require a minimum time commitment (meaning you can’t blow through all the questions in 5 minutes), but they are still a lot quicker than traditional options.

4. Affordable

Top online traffic schools are typically a lot cheaper than going through traditional driving schools.

Prices will vary significantly from state to state and program to program, but in our observations cheap traffic schools online options are almost always cheaper.

What is the Best Online Traffic School?

To pick the best online traffic school, we hand-tested each option to check out how engaging, smooth, fast, and affordable the courses were.

We also researched a ton of online traffic school reviews to get an idea of what other drivers thought of each program.

Simply put, we want to help you find the cheapest and fastest online traffic schools out there, while also avoiding some of the less-than-stellar courses.

Here are our picks for the best traffic school online:

1. Go To Traffic School

A screenshot of the gototrafficschool homepage

Go To Traffic School may be one of the oldest programs still running, and through it all, the school has always been about accessibility.

The traffic school was first formed to help those with traffic tickets in the 90s using mail-in pamphlets before switching to become one of the very first online traffic schools ever in 1999.

What Makes This School Special?

While they fell off in popularity briefly, Go To Traffic School has made some serious updates and improvements to their courses that have finally pushed them fully and firmly into the 21st century.

they have had a complete website and course content overhaul. This overhaul has made Go to Traffic School’s website mobile-friendly, updated its course content, and included videos.

You can now go at your own pace and log in and out at your leisure.

The school is also unique for offering its courses in Spanish and English, so it’s accessible to anyone who needs traffic school or just general motor vehicle courses.

A huge perk of this traffic school is that they are approved in more states than almost any other traffic school, including California traffic school and Texas defensive driving courses.

Colorado is the only place in the United States where the school is not approved and DMV licensed.

With this in mind, it’s almost a guarantee that attending Go To Traffic School will help you with whatever reasons you have for taking the traffic course.

However, what truly makes this school special is they are the single cheapest school available.

Go to Traffic School offers a guaranteed lowest price.

If you can find any price that beats yours, they will match it.

This is the best online traffic school for those on a budget.

Pricing

As we mentioned, a huge selling point for Got to Traffic School is their lowest price guarantee.

Make sure to do your research and if you find a lower price, you can take it to their customer service and get that price while attending this popular traffic school choice.

2. Aceable

A screenshot of the aceable homepage

Aceable boasts of a user-intuitive layout and engaging courses, promising to make their online traffic school course l a breeze for those who need to attend traffic school.

Aceable is a newer school, and they use text and video to keep things exciting for those taking the class.

What Makes This School Special?

Because Aceable is newer than most other traffic schools floating around, they are also the most modern in terms of course content and style.

The class has more variety than most other traffic schools can offer, even including interactive games.

If you plan on completing your class on your phone or tablet, this is the best traffic school online by far.

Aceable is not just mobile-friendly—they have an app that you can download to use.

The app allows you to switch between devices and take the course at your leisure rather than sitting in front of a computer screen for one sitting.

Aceable saves your place and gives you unlimited breaks, so this is a good option for those who prefer to go to traffic school in between other commitments instead of taking a full day to work on it.

Acebale is one of the faster options for traffic school too.

While the use of videos can slow things down sometimes, they have a competitive edge over many other schools in that everything genuinely works on their website.

You do not have to deal with long load times or faulty identification systems.

And if there is a problem, you can call, email, or chat online with their customer support team seven days a week.

Overall, this is the best online traffic school for those who want to take their class on their phones.

Pricing

Depending on the state, these courses range from $19 to $55.

Make sure to keep an eye out for one of their frequent sales, as this is a great way to save money if you do not have a court-appointed end date for your traffic school compilation.

Aceable is a relatively new service that’s rapidly expanding, offering courses in driver’s ed, defensive driving, and general online traffic school.

Offerings vary from state to state, but Aceable is very affordable, offers very engaging courses, and works on smartphones, tablets and computers.

It’s new, but it’s quickly become the best online traffic school in our tests.

  • Very affordable
  • 100% online
  • Highly engaging courses using a mix of videos, gifs, text, and quizzes
  • State Certified in many states
  • Excellent mobile app for iOS and Android
  • Course progress syncs between devices
  • Great customer service 7 days a week
  • Check out our Aceable Defensive Driving review for more information

Aceable do an excellent job of presenting the information in a way that actually makes you want to learn it.

At the same time, the content is fairly easy, so if you just want to breeze through it you can do that as well.

Aceable is also definitely the most modern company on this list, with an excellent smartphone app, nifty interactive drive simulations, and more.

Click here to learn more about Aceable

3. iDriveSafely Online Traffic School

A screenshot of the idrivesafely homepage

iDriveSafely came on the scene around two decades and it is not a surprise that the school lasted this long.

This traffic school is constantly one of the top-rated traffic schools in the United States and boasts that around 5 million students have gone through their program.

Because of how long the traffic school has been in business, you are not likely to experience any strange hiccups or growing pains in your courses.

You can rest assured knowing that hundreds of students have come before you and that iDriveSafely has worked hard to make everything as smooth and seamless as possible in its courses.

Overall, this program is user-focused, with complete content—no extra frills.

What Makes This School Special?

iDriveSatefly will be the best traffic school course if you prefer a text-heavy class or are looking for the fastest online traffic school available.

The school does offer a video-based course that they will ask you to upgrade to several times.

However, the basic text-based course is both faster and cheaper.

This school is also a good choice for those who live in states with time requirements, text-only means there is nothing to slow you down—so if there is no timer required in your state, you should be able to breeze through the class.

If you do live in a state with a time minimum on traffic school there are course timers at the top of each page, so you can just wait for each one out.

Plus, without videos, you do not have to worry about it interrupting whatever else you may be doing.

However, those who prefer audio or visual helpers may find this option less effective than others.

iDrive Safely courses can last between four to eight hours, depending on the state minimum.

However, they do guarantee that they keep it to the minimum time requirement.

IDrive Safely offers several other courses, including:

  • Teen Drivers Ed
  • Adult Drivers Ed
  • Defensive Driving
  • Fleet Driver Training
  • Mature Driver Improvement

Keep in mind that iDriveSafely offers defensive driving courses for some states and traffic schools for others.

Both can help get points taken off your license, so make sure to do your research based on your state or infraction.

Overall, this is the best traffic school for those who want a fast, text-based class.

Pricing

Cost does vary slightly depending on the state, but they often have various featured products that include ticket dismissal courses.

Usually, this will be the lowest price allowed by law, which can start at around $25 depending on the state.

4. Improv Traffic School 

A screenshot of the myimprov homepage

Improv Traffic School is a school unlike any other.

It is a comedy traffic school created by comedians to make taking a traffic school course more exciting for the public.

They hire comedians and famous actors to deal with teaching traffic law instruction and vehicle codes.

What Makes This School Special?

Improv Traffic School is unique for its premise and mission, which bleed into everything it does.

They use education and entertainment—or edutainment—to teach the traffic school, which can help it stick in driver’s heads better.

The first classes were in Los Angeles county in 1980 for California drivers.

Because the school has been doing this for over four decades, you can trust that you are in good hands at this traffic school.

The in-person classes include driver’s ed and traffic school.

Improve Traffic School offers Family Feud-style games and graduation parties for successful students.

For those who are taking this as an online traffic school, don’t worry.

The website, founded in 2014, is modern and compatible with many different devices.

 For those located in a state where a traffic school course is required to take a certain amount of time, the school offers funny videos, interactive games, and cartoons to help pass that time.

This is the best traffic school for those who want genuine entertainment in their class.

However, if you are in a state that does not have a time requirement, then you may find these additions will slow you down.

Either way, these many features make it one of the easiest online traffic schools around.

Pricing

Like many other drive schools, Improv Traffic School offers several different sales at various times.

In general, you can expect to pay between $20 and $60 for each traffic course, depending on the state you are in and what sales are going on at the time.Improv Traffic School

5. DriversEd

A screenshot of the driversed homepage

As the name implies, this school focuses on driver’s ed.

However, the company does also offer a highly reputed traffic school.

This DriversEd online traffic school may not be flashy, but it’s easy to use and certainly gets the job done.

What Makes This School Special?

DriversEd is a good choice for those seeking a no-frills online traffic school that they can complete swiftly and efficiently.

It is maybe the best online traffic school for young drivers especially due to the content of the course.

This traffic course uses experts to take you through the process, and they focus on efficient and effective learning techniques rather than any experimental learning options.

Professional drivers are there every step of the way, and they do pack a lot of information into their classes.

While it is primarily text-focused, they have updated its content with games and videos, making it more exciting for users.

This school is particularly special because it began as driver’s ed, so most of its content has been geared toward teenagers and young adults.

While a 40-year-old may not find this content particularly relatable, these content choices make it ideal for those age groups looking to take an online traffic school, either independently or in conjunction with another class.

This makes it the best traffic school for those ages 16-25.

Because they have been around for over two decades, DriversEd is also reputable—meaning you can trust them with your money.

They even offer a free certificate of compilation, sent to you with no extra charge.

Pricing

Just like every other school, pricing can range depending on the state.

However, DriversEd has traditionally been one of the least expensive options on the market, so they are a good basis to compare other prices.

6. Traffic School To Go

screenshot of the trafficschooltogo homepage

An affiliate of the National American Safety Council, Traffic School To Go has a clean and reputable online traffic school that will help you decrease insurance costs and more with their state-licensed classes.

What Makes This School Special?

Traffic School To Go is DMV licensed and has been around since 1997: in short, they have a good reputation and plan on keeping it.

The school is careful to keep their course information up to date for those in their classes and make themselves available to those that need extra help.

The online traffic school is a basic, text-oriented program, so some may find it slightly unengaging or less exciting than other options on the list.

While the content stays updated, the website itself can sometimes feel out-of-date with slow loading and older graphic styles.

 They have been working on updating their website frequently over the past several years and now offer a mobile-friendly website design that will allow you to start and stop the course on your own time.

There is no time limit on this online traffic school.

They will also allow you to enroll in the course, even if you do not have your ticket information available at that moment—you will have the option to input that information later.

Overall, this is the best traffic school for those who want a classic, simple traffic school experience.

Pricing

Traffic School To Go is one of the cheapest schools out there—their classes always cost $19.95 across the board in every state.

They offer price-matching, so if you can find an even less expensive option for a traffic class in your state, they will give you the Traffic School To Go experience at a lower price.

They are also unique in that they offer a money-back guarantee for those who are unable to pass their traffic school or let you re-register for free.

7. Traffic101

Traffic101 is a well established driver training program that was founded in 1998.

They were one of the first accredited internet-based driving schools in the nation, so they certainly have experience – although, we found some of their content and course presentation to be outdated.

  • Affordable
  • 100% online
  • Money-back guarantee
  • Offers last-minute expedited options for those in a hurry
  • No app
  • State DMV certified & court certified in many states
  • Good customer support
  • Course presentation is a bit outdated (as is their website)

Click here to learn more about Traffic101

There are certainly other companies out there offering online courses, but these are the best online traffic school options that we’ve found.

If you choose a school that’s not on this list, be sure to check out online traffic school reviews to see what other drivers are saying.

And if you’re wondering if traffic school is even necessary, check out this article on the topic.

How to Pick the Right School

Traffic schools can help a driver eliminate points from their driving record from traffic tickets, reduce their car insurance payments, and even allow a driver to have their license reinstated.

An online traffic school is an option for people across the country.

Online traffic school is available to everyone from those in rural North Dakota to sunny Orange County to the packed-in region of the San Franciso bay area.

But how do you choose the best online traffic school for you?

There are several things to consider when you are choosing your traffic school.

Think about the cost, the state certifications, customer service, and how frequently the site has been updated in the past several years.

These things can help you narrow down the right traffic school for you.

You may also find yourself sifting through several different scams or shady-looking websites.

While all the traffic schools on this list are reputable—many of them can boast millions of students and claim decades of experience—keep an eye out for these tricks as you do your research.

1. Pay Attention to Cost and Fees

The cost of traffic schools will naturally range deepening on the school and what state the driver is located in.

However, you should be on the lookout for those that seem too good to be true.

Some traffic schools will appear inexpensive upfront.

Then, as the course reaches its conclusion, there will suddenly be extra costs you have to pay associated with getting your driver compilation certificate.

These fees will often be for features like closed captioning or video services that the site didn’t make obvious cost extra until the end.

2. Confirm if it Is Certified in Your State

Many online traffic schools are certified in various states.

However, some schools are purposefully shady about where they are not certified.

What works for the California Department of the DMV isn’t necessarily the same thing that works in Colorado.

 They may use vague wording to convince you to sign up and pay, only for you to find out that the school will not be helpful for your situation.

Double-check any school’s eligibility for your state and circumstances to confirm it is right for you.

3. Check on the Customer Service

In a perfect world, you never have to reach out to customer service for anything, ever.

In reality, however, there are several different reasons you might have to call or otherwise be able to reach a customer service representative.

You may have an issue with identity verification systems failing or need to call to verify some information.

No matter the reason, if you need help, ideally you get to talk to a person, not a robot, and relatively quickly.

4. Check the Last Time They Updated the Website

Many online traffic schools came to fruition in the early 2000s, and not all of them have kept their courses updated since then.

This information is important in terms of the actual course material (as if they lag too far behind, they may not be state-certified anymore) and in how you can take the online course.

With some websites, you may be greeted by an out-of-date website model with comic sans text and a couple of old photos.

While that is more of a design flaw, it could indicate a more pressing issue: that the traffic school is not compatible with a phone or tablet.

 Taking a class that does not work with mobile devices can cause issues for you down the line if you plan on doing traffic school in small increments or across several devices.

If you plan on taking your online traffic school online from more than one device, double-check that the school is compatible with your phone or tablet before taking the plunge and signing up.

5. Note the Time Restrictions

As we mentioned, many of the best online traffic schools are verified in more than one state.

In some of those states, there may be a minimum amount of time that traffic school must take for it to count towards a ticket dismissal or other perks.

If you are in a state that does not have a minimum traffic school time, you should see if the school you are signing up for avoids using one or has the least amount of time necessary per the law.

Otherwise, you will end up wasting your time on a six-hour course that you could have done in 45 minutes.

6. See What Else They Offer

Many online traffic schools have more than one course.

They may offer traffic school and driver ed or defensive driving or other classes.

This can be a good sign, as it means that the site is more legitimate and has branched out across the spectrum of driving.

It can also be a positive for those in states that give you the option between traffic and defensive driving courses.

Best Online Traffic Schools in the US

Alabama Online Traffic School
Alaska Online Traffic School
Arizona Online Traffic School
Arkansas Online Traffic School
California Online Traffic School
Colorado Online Traffic School
Connecticut Online Traffic School
Delaware Online Traffic School
Florida Online Traffic School
Georgia Online Traffic School
Illinois Online Traffic School
Indiana Online Traffic School
Iowa Online Traffic School
Kansas Online Traffic School
Kentucky Online Traffic School
Louisiana Online Traffic School
Maine Online Traffic School
Maryland Online Traffic School
Massachusetts Online Traffic School
Michigan Online Traffic School
Minnesota Online Traffic School
Mississippi Online Traffic School
Missouri Online Traffic School
Montana Online Traffic School
Nebraska Online Traffic School
Nevada Online Traffic School
New Hampshire Online Traffic School
New Jersey Online Traffic School
New Mexico Online Traffic School
New York Online Traffic School
North Carolina Online Traffic School
North Dakota Online Traffic School
Ohio Online Traffic School
Oklahoma Online Traffic School
Texas Online Traffic School
Oregon Online Traffic School
Pennsylvania Online Traffic School
Rhode Island Online Traffic School
South Carolina Online Traffic School
South Dakota Online Traffic School
Tennessee Online Traffic School
Utah Online Traffic School
Vermont Online Traffic School
Virginia Online Traffic School
Washington Online Traffic School
West Virginia Online Traffic School
Wisconsin Online Traffic School
Wyoming Online Traffic School

Online Traffic School FAQs

How long does online traffic school take?

Course lengths will vary by state and program.

They could take as little as 1 hour, and up to 8 hours or more.

Each state has different requirements – for instance, Texas online traffic schools require that courses be on a set timer, so you can’t blow through the questions in 20 minutes.

On the other end of the spectrum, online traffic schools in California do not require a timer, and most can be finished in an hour or two.

How much is online traffic school?

Again, course fees will vary by state.

Generally speaking, you can expect to pay around $20 to $40+ for an online defensive driving course.

Courses must be customized for each state, so there’s no set online traffic school cost across the board.

How do I do traffic school online?

Simply sign up for one of the best online defensive driving course, discussed above, and follow the directions.

Once you finish, you’ll be sent a certification saying that you completed the course.

Does online traffic school give you an auto insurance discount?

In many cases, yes.

This varies by insurer and state, but generally speaking most insurers in most states offer some sort of premium discount for taking a defensive driving course.

That said, some discounts are only for certain age groups, and some insurers don’t offer any sort of discount.

It’s worth contacting your insurance agent to find out, as the savings can be quite significant.

Are online traffic schools court-approved?

Generally speaking, yes.

If you choose a reputable company off the list of best traffic schools online, it should offer court-approved coursework that can satisfy court ordered requirements.

Be sure to check with the relevant authorities to be sure.

Is traffic school the same as driver’s ed?

Traffic school is different than driver’s ed.

If you were looking for driver’s ed options, check out our guides to the best online driver’s ed for teens and the best driver’s ed programs for adults.

The Bottom Line

Each of these traffic schools offers its students something different, and which one is right for you can depend on what you’re looking for out of your online traffic school experience.

If price is the most important option for you, you should probably go with Traffic School to Go or Go To Traffic School, which both offer price-matching guarantees.

If you’re under 25 and looking at online traffic school options, then the DriversEd content may be more relatable for you.

If you want to have fun while taking traffic school, you may find that Improv Traffic School is your best option.

If you know you’ll be doing your course online, Aceable might be your best bet.

If you’re focused on speed, then you should consider going to iDriveSafely online.

All of these schools are reputable and cost-efficient.

However, remember to check what schools are certified in your state, as that can help narrow down the decision.

Only you know what school will be right for you and your needs.

But no matter which online traffic school you choose, you can rest assured that all of these options will help you succeed.

Good luck with traffic school!

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