As of July 1, 2011. California Department of Motor Vehicles will be tracking driver safety violations. The courts will no longer be allowed to “dismiss” infractions after a driver attends Traffic Violator School (TVS).
Up to now, when convictions were stamped “dismissed”, it was equivalent to a verdict of “not guilty” so it appeared as though there were no violations. Frequent offenders have been able to use this loophole as a way to repeatedly attend a Traffic Violator School.
Under the new law, (AB 2499), a driver who attends a Traffic Violator School will have their (first) conviction masked and aviod a negative mark on their driving record. However, if they accue additional violations within the 18 months, the convictions will appear on their driving record as a “neglient operator”, points will be assigned and their insurance company will be notified.
A Traffic Violator School conviction (will not) be masked if:
- There is a prior TVS dismissal or conviction within the previous 18 months.
- The conviction is a major (2 point) violation (DUI or Reckelss Driving).
- The driver holds a commercial driver licence or was operating a commercial vehicle at the time of the violation.
