Clayton Traffic School

The Census Bureau estimates 10,842 residents in Clayton on July 1, 2025, on 3.84 square miles of land. The city lies at the foot of Mount Diablo and incorporated in 1964. Its land area more than doubled in 1987 with the annexation of Dana Hills and the former Keller Ranch, where the Oakhurst Country Club was built in the 1990s. Clayton Road leads west into Concord. Marsh Creek Road runs 14 miles the other way to Brentwood, and in May 2019 Contra Costa County began adding a centerline rumble strip, new striping and new signs along it.

Tickets in Clayton come from two agencies. The Clayton Police Department, which has served the city since 1972, patrols its streets, and the California Highway Patrol's Contra Costa, Dublin, Marin and Oakland Areas serve Contra Costa County. Whichever agency writes the ticket, it goes to Contra Costa County Superior Court under the same traffic school rules.

The Office of Traffic Safety compares Clayton with 103 California cities of similar size, where 1st is the worst result. Its 2023 rankings count 11 people killed or injured in Clayton crashes, 87th in the group, and 1 speed-related crash that killed or hurt someone, 84th. No pedestrian or bicyclist was killed or injured that year, and 9 DUI arrests ranked 29th.

Clayton has its own Local Roadway Safety Plan, and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority's countywide safety plan lists the two priority intersections it named, Oakhurst Drive at Eagle Peak Avenue, the western of the two places they meet, and Mountaire Parkway at Mt. Duncan Drive. Each has had at least one crash that killed or seriously injured someone. Clayton's focus areas include intersections, impaired driving and pedestrians.

The city's engineering staff oversee sidewalks, crosswalks and traffic signals, and they review every new development for traffic circulation, ADA compliance and traffic safety. The Clayton Police Department takes traffic complaints and concerns through the city's website. If an officer marked your moving citation correctable, the department can sign it off, but a correctable ticket for no insurance under Vehicle Code 16028 has to be signed off by the court.

Clayton has no courthouse. Contra Costa County Superior Court assigns traffic cases by where the citation was issued and hears them in Walnut Creek, Pittsburg and Richmond. Its page for the Walnut Creek Juvenile and Traffic Center at 640 Ygnacio Valley Road lists Clayton among the communities that traffic court serves. The building hears traffic and juvenile cases under DMV court code 07480, and the court's phone number is (925) 608-1000. The court's filing table lists the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez for Clayton's ZIP code, 94517, but that table is not for traffic, and the court mails a reminder notice that names the courthouse handling yours.

Traffic school is the court's decision, and your courtesy notice says whether your ticket qualifies. Contra Costa County Superior Court collects the fine and a traffic school administrative fee, sets both amounts and shows them on the notice with your due date. Mirai Traffic School's $24.99 course is a separate payment. The court allows traffic school if you hold a valid California license and have not attended traffic school in California in the past 18 months, counted from one violation date to the other. Finishing the course keeps one conviction in any 18-month period confidential and off your driving record.

After you pass the final exam, Mirai Traffic School reports your completion to the DMV electronically, and the court retrieves it from there. Contra Costa still makes you responsible for seeing that the certificate arrives, so look up your Clayton case before the due date and check your name, license number and court code 07480.