Defensive Driving

You may have received more than one charge on your Arizona Traffic Ticket and Complaint Form. If you qualify for the defensive driving program option, it may be applied to only one eligible traffic charge. You must appear in court or pay the fines for any additional charges.

Advantages

• You will not have to go to court for one traffic charge.
• The eligible charge will be dismissed.
• You will receive no points against your Driver License for that charge. Points may increase insurance premiums and may result in a Driver License suspension.
• You will not have to pay a fine for that charge.

Eligibility

You are eligible if you meet all of the following criteria:
• You have not attended a Defensive Driving School within 12 months from the date of your last violation for which you were authorized to attend a defensive driving school.
• A violation code on your complaint matches one that is listed in the “Violations Eligible for Defensive Driving Program” section on the Bond Card (PDF).
• Your traffic charge did not result from an accident involving serious physical injury or death.
• As of 9/1/19, a commercial driver license holder MAY be able to attend defensive driving school providing the holder was driving a vehicle requiring a Class D or M license and the vehicle was not being used for commercial purposes. A.R.S. §28-3392 2(b).

What to do

• If you are eligible to attend Defensive Driving School for diversion, you may only attend a Supreme Court certified school.
    o If your case meets the criteria for DDS and this is your first extension you may request an extension by filing a motion or calling the Court.
    o If your case meets the criteria for DDS and you need a second extension, you may file an online motion.

• If you wish to attend class in a state other than Arizona OR would like to take an ONLINE class, you may do so by contacting one of the Supreme Court certified schools.
• Visit azdrive.com OR
• Call the Defensive Driving School information line at 1-888-334-5565 (automated response only; there is no option to speak to a representative)
• To help you select a school, you will need to know the following:
    o Fountain Hills, Arizona is located within Maricopa County
    o Fountain Hills Municipal Court’s assigned number is 0742

You must register and complete the class at least 7 days prior to the court appearance date on the complaint or extension notice. It can take several days for processing of registrations and completions to be completed, so please allow sufficient time for this processing to occur.

Failure to complete the defensive driving class at least seven days prior to your court appearance date may result in the entry of a default judgment and/or your driver license suspension with additional monetary penalties being imposed.

Red Light Violations: Persons found responsible or entering a plea of responsible for red light traffic control signals, including flashing stop signal violations, will be ordered by the Motor Vehicle Division to attend and successfully complete Traffic Survival School or suffer suspension of your driving privileges.