East Palo Alto Traffic School

The Census Bureau estimates 28,872 residents in East Palo Alto on July 1, 2025. US 101 crosses the city, and two short state routes run through it as local streets: State Route 109 is University Avenue, and State Route 114 is Willow Road.

Tickets in East Palo Alto come from two agencies. The East Palo Alto Police Department patrols city streets, and the county's road safety plan names it the lead agency for a radar trailer that shows drivers their speed. On the state highways, the California Highway Patrol's Redwood City Area and Hayward Area serve San Mateo County, and the Hayward Area's share is the small part near the Dumbarton Bridge. Tickets from both agencies go to San Mateo County Superior Court under the same traffic school rules.

The California Office of Traffic Safety's 2023 rankings count 115 people killed or injured in East Palo Alto crashes, 9th of 93 cities of similar size, where 1st is the worst result. Hit-and-run crashes that killed or hurt someone numbered 27, 2nd in the group. Bicyclists killed or injured numbered 14, 5th, and 26 people were killed or injured in crashes involving alcohol, 6th. The rankings cover the city's roads, not the facts of one driver's case.

East Palo Alto's chapter of the countywide Local Roadway Safety Plan, adopted by the C/CAG Board in 2024, counts 458 reported crashes on the city's surface streets from 2018 through 2022, and 48 of them killed or severely injured someone. Pedestrians were involved in 27 percent of those fatal or severe crashes and bicyclists in 21 percent. Too fast for conditions was the violation cited most often in motor vehicle crashes that caused death or severe injury. The plan's High Injury Network includes Bayshore Road, Pulgas Avenue, University Avenue and Willow Road.

Every adult traffic ticket from East Palo Alto is arraigned at the Northern Branch of San Mateo County Superior Court, 1050 Mission Road in South San Francisco, the courthouse that takes arraignments from all over the county. The Traffic Division's number is (650) 363-4300. The court mails a Notice of Bail to the address on your citation, and the court code you need when you enroll is printed on the citation.

Ask the court for traffic school first. San Mateo County Superior Court will not let you enroll until you have paid the bail plus a non-refundable administrative fee, and the court sets those amounts and the due date, which the Notice of Bail shows. Mirai Traffic School's $24.99 is paid separately, for the course only. The court's rules call for a valid California driver's license, no traffic school for a violation in the 18 months before, a speed no more than 25 mph over the limit, and no violation carrying more than one point. Seat belt, equipment and insurance violations are excluded. The final decision is the court's.

Mirai Traffic School reports your completion to the DMV electronically, and the court retrieves it from there. Before the due date, find your case through the court's traffic page and make sure your name, license number and court code are right, while there is still time to correct them.