(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, after a deposit of the fee under Section 42007 or bail, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a conviction, a court may order or permit a person who holds a noncommercial class C, class M1, or class M2 driver‘s license who pleads guilty or who pleads no contest or who is convicted of a traffic offense to attend a traffic violator school licensed pursuant to Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 11200) of Division 5.

(b) To the extent the court is in conformance with Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and except as otherwise provided in this section, the court may, after deposit of the fee under Section 42007 or bail, order or permit a person who holds a class A, class B, or commercial class C driver’s license, who pleads guilty or no contest or is convicted of a traffic offense, to complete a course of instruction at a licensed traffic violator school if the person was operating a vehicle requiring only a class C license, or a class M license. The court may not order that the record of conviction be kept confidential. However, the conviction shall not be added to a violation point count for purposes of determining whether a driver is presumed to be a negligent operator under Section 12810.5.

Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 42005

  • Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles except, when used in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2100) of Division 2 and in Divisions 11 (commencing with Section 21000), 12 (commencing with Section 24000), 13 (commencing with Section 29000), 14 (commencing with Section 31600), 14. See California Vehicle Code 290
  • driver: is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 305
  • instruction: includes classroom driver education, in-vehicle driver training, and correspondence study. See California Vehicle Code 310.6
  • motor vehicle: includes a recreational vehicle as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of §. See California Vehicle Code 415
  • Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • traffic: includes pedestrians, ridden animals, vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using any highway for purposes of travel. See California Vehicle Code 620
  • traffic violator school: is a business that, for compensation, provides, or offers to provide, instruction in traffic safety, including, but not limited to, classroom traffic violator curricula, for persons referred by a court pursuant to Section 42005 or to other persons who elect to attend. See California Vehicle Code 626
  • vehicle: is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See California Vehicle Code 670

(c) The court shall not order that a conviction of an offense be kept confidential according to Section 1808.7, order or permit avoidance of consideration of violation point counts under subdivision (b), or permit a person, regardless of the driver’s license class, to complete a program at a licensed traffic violator school in lieu of adjudicating an offense if any of the following applies to the offense:

(1) It occurred in a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 15210.

(2) Is a violation of Section 20001, 20002, 23103, 23104, 23105, 23140, 23152, or 23153, or of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5.

(3) It is a violation described in subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 12810.

(d) A person ordered to attend a traffic violator school pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) may choose the traffic violator school the person will attend. The court shall provide to each person subject to that order or referral the department‘s current list of licensed traffic violator schools.

(e) A person who fails to comply with a court order to attend traffic violator school shall not be assessed any additional penalties for their failure to comply, however the provisions of Section 1808.7 shall not apply to a person who fails to attend traffic violator school.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 85, Sec. 2. (AB 466) Effective January 1, 2024.)

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