Why go to traffic school? Every driver knows that being cited for a moving violation is expensive and inconvenient. What, though, is the precise impact of a moving violation on your driving record and insurance rates? What poor driving practices lead to moving violations and collisions? Avoiding tickets and accidents is largely a matter of cultivating good driving habits.

WebTrafficSchool.com aims to enhance participants’ understanding of traffic safety not merely by reviewing traffic laws, but by emphasizing proper driving attitude and driver responsibility. Although most drivers are quite familiar with the rules that govern our roadways, the logic underlying those rules remains mysterious. It is our goal to unravel the mysteries of traffic safety and to reveal the good sense behind the regulations.

Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute: steps in safe vehicle operation. They embody the principles of defensive driving, and help you deal with the complexities of visual perception in traffic. Driving is such a regular part of most people’s lives that we are figuratively asleep at the wheel. This wake-up call to awareness will help you to avoid citations, and even more importantly, avoid collisions.

Seat belts, properly and routinely used, can save your life. Seat belt use is mandatory in Virginia, and safety restraint systems have a dramatic effect on reducing injury and death in vehicle collisions. In this course, we will give you the facts.

What information about a highway is encoded in its route number? Can you legally cross a single white line marking your lane? If two cars arrive at a stop-sign-controlled intersection at the same moment, which one has the right-of-way? A closer look at those familiar signs, signals, and markings that blanket our roadways will facilitate route planning and ease negotiation of unusual traffic situations.

Careful observation of signs, signals and roadway markings is especially critical in the context of freeway driving. The speed of traffic is, of course, greatest on freeways, where safe travel requires additional care. Speed limit signs and laws are easy to understand; yet speed violations constitute a disproportionately large percentage of total citations. Virginia's Basic Speed Law prohibits operation of a vehicle at a speed greater than one which is safe under prevailing traffic and road conditions, regardless of the posted speed limit. This should serve as the central principle in the formation of good driving habits.

Perhaps the single most dangerous driving practice is driving while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Defensive driving techniques and knowledge of the rules of the road simply cannot compensate for the serious impairment of driving while under the influence. Impaired drivers endanger themselves and others, and they risk severe legal and financial consequences. Sober driving is among the most important factors in safe driving.

The course concludes with a discussion of the proper handling of emergency and accident situations and Virginia's financial responsibility laws. In the Quiz Review, we will look back at all the topics, in preparation for the Final Quiz.

At WebTrafficSchool.com, we are convinced that driver attitude and responsibility are the keys to safe driving. Your time here will have been well spent if you put the lessons of the course into practice behind the wheel. An aware driver is a safe driver, and a safe driver is one who avoids tickets, court, and collisions.