While everyone loves getting a traffic ticket thrown out in court, there are reports that traffic violation dismissals may not be in our best interests and increases the risks of future auto accidents.

According to a California Department of Motor Vehicle study on car accident statistics (called “A Traffic Safety Evaluation of California’s Traffic Violator School Citation Dismissal Policy”), car drivers whose traffic violations were dismissed by courts, often following a safe driving course completion, are more likely to be in another auto accident within a year than car drivers whose convictions remain on their driving records.

Our car accident lawyers are not saying that people do not deserve a second chance to avoid making a mistake on the road, it is just that bad drivers have no place on the road.  They cause wrongful deaths and should not be given a third or fourth chance to kill someone in an auto accident.

In California and other states, judges have the option of allowing violators to attend traffic violator schools in exchange for having their speeding, reckless driving or other citations dismissed.  No points are assessed, and the car driver’s violation is removed from their public record.  In the California program, points for a second violation also may be removed by attending traffic school but, this time, the dismissal appears on the car driver’s record.

Car drivers who complete traffic school are able to avoid about 15,000 license suspension or probationary restrictions, in addition to about 6,000 probation violator sanctions, each year in California.

All of these things are good for these drivers, but it is not a good thing for everyone else on the road.  As experience auto accident attorneys, we know that bad drivers cause more car accidents than good drivers.  When drivers — that speed, drive recklessly and ignore the rules of the road — are allowed to escape license suspensions, it is the law-abiding and courteous car drivers that must suffer and avoid car accidents.

According to the report, about 12,300 car accidents each year occur because of the 1.2 million drivers who receive traffic school citation dismissals, leading to annual economic losses associated with these automobile accidents at $398 million.

Please feel free to call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or you can click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident attorney.  We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish.  No fee if no recovery.