Traffic violator school masked convictions: California finally got it right

The negative traffic safety impact of California's prior traffic violator school (TVS) citation dismissal policy is well documented in past California TVS evaluations.

Using advanced inferential statistical techniques, the current study evaluated the substantive changes to California's traffic violator school program as required by California Assembly Bill (AB) 2499. The program changes implemented by AB 2499 appear to be associated with a specific deterrent effect as evidenced by a reliable and statistically significant reduction in subsequent traffic crashes of those receiving a masked TVS conviction as opposed to a countable conviction.

The results suggest that this relationship exists primarily among TVS drivers with less elevated prior records. The change in status from a TVS citation dismissal to a TVS masked conviction has reduced the negative traffic safety impact of the TVS citation dismissal policy in effect prior to the implementation of AB 2499. Several recommendations are offered to enhance the positive traffic safety impact of the TVS program by further combining its educational elements with the state's post license control program by way of the Negligent Operator Treatment System.

The findings and recommendations have implications to all states and jurisdictions utilizing pre-conviction diversion programs and/or demerit point systems associated with traffic violations.