Traffic School in Delaware: What to Do With a Ticket Instead

First, the honest answer: no class ends a ticket

Delaware does not have it. The traffic FAQ from the Justice of the Peace Court names three endings for a ticket, voluntary assessment, trial and probation before judgment, and a course is not part of any of them. You cannot trade a class for a dismissal here.

The state's defensive driving course is a separate thing. It leaves the ticket you have now untouched, but it puts a 3 point credit in the bank with the DMV, usable against later violations for three years.

Option one: voluntary assessment

When voluntary assessment is on offer, paying the full amount inside 30 days closes the matter with no hearing. Paying part of it is not accepted. Already beyond 30 days? Call the assessment center on 302-739-6911 straight away.

Eligible mail-in tickets no more than 30 days old can be split into three equal payments: the first when the ticket was originally due, the second at day 60, the third no later than day 90. Look for Deferred Amount at courtpay.delaware.gov; no such option means no plan for that ticket.

Option two: use the first speeding ticket rule

Under DMV Policy 45, no points are assessed for speeding 14 mph or less over the limit, provided you have had no other speeding violation within three years and you settle it by paying the assessment center or an Alderman's Court. The rule covers Class D licenses only; CDL holders still collect points.

For an everyday speeding ticket, this is the nearest Delaware comes to traffic school. It only works if you pay rather than contest the ticket, so think about it before pleading not guilty.

Example: you get a ticket for 11 over on Route 1, with no other speeding ticket in three years. Pay it through voluntary assessment and no points are added. Contest it and lose, and the 4 points for 10 to 14 over would apply.

Option three: court and probation before judgment

To fight the ticket, sign where indicated and mail it, or fax both sides, before the court date on the ticket. You will then be told the date, time and place of your hearing. On the day, have your insurance card and the ticket with you; witnesses need subpoenas.

At court, the judge may grant probation before judgment if the prosecution agrees. You are shut out if you were convicted of this offense before, or were given that same deal for anything at all in the last five years, and CDL holders are excluded even when driving their own car. Complete it and you are discharged with no conviction and no points.

If you lose in court: appeals and Alderman's Courts

Appeals from both kinds of court go up to the Court of Common Pleas, and you get 15 days. From an Alderman's Court, any conviction can be appealed. From a Justice of the Peace court, only one carrying a fine above $100 or a jail sentence.

Several towns, among them Rehoboth Beach, Newport, Newark, Laurel, Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach, have their own Alderman's Courts. If one is named on your ticket, call that court for payment and hearing dates.

If the DMV orders a course

Behavior modification, also called attitudinal driving, is a course you are sent to, not one you pick. Triggers include hitting 12 calculated points, an aggressive driving conviction (finish within 90 days), and getting your license back after a point suspension; a driver convicted of 25 to 29 mph over may also take it in place of a 1 month suspension.

Plan on 8 or more hours and $100, paid straight to the provider, which notifies the DMV of your completion inside 48 hours. Taking the voluntary defensive driving course instead will not satisfy this requirement.