Disposition Alternatives
Enter a plea of not guilty and requesting a hearing before the court. You must notify the Clerk's Office in writing within the required time frame. Your case will be scheduled for a court date, and you will be advised when and where to appear. The officer who issued the citation and any other witnesses called by the officer will be present. You may also bring any witnesses you wish to testify on your behalf. If you are found guilty of a civil infraction, the court may assess a fine and court costs, order you to attend a defensive driving course, or impose other penalties. A suspension will be issued against your driver's license and additional penalties will be imposed if you fail to comply with the courts order within the specified time period.
The Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles now provides information regarding the eligibility to elect driver improvement school in lieu of points. To access this information visit www.flhsmv.gov then click on Driver License Check under the Driver License heading in the middle of the page. Enter the Driver License number then click enter.
Elect to attend a basic driver improvement course, if provided by the law. Any person charged with a moving traffic violation is eligible to elect to attend a driver improvement course. You may not take a basic driver improvement course more than five times in your lifetime or more than once in a 12 month period. An election to attend a basic driver improvement course to satisfy the violation will be entered on your driver history records as an "adjudication withheld" and points will not be assessed against your driver license. You must make your election and pay the associated fines and costs to attend a driver improvement course in the county in which your ticket was issued.
You should contact the Traffic Department in the county in which you received your citation for the current penalty, or refer to the flyer provided by the officer at the time you were cited for the violation. After you complete and mail your election to the Clerk, contact a basic driver improvement school to arrange your class. You must enroll, attend, and complete the course approved by the Department of Highway Safety within 60 calendar days from the date you elected to attend (the date you signed the affidavit). You can refer to the yellow pages of your local telephone directory under "Driving Instruction or Traffic Schools" for names and locations. Or you can access a list of Basic Driver Improvement courses approved by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles at the following Web site: http://www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/bdis.html