Martinez Traffic School

Martinez has been the county seat since 1850, and the Census Bureau estimates 36,849 residents on July 1, 2025, along the southern shore of the Carquinez Strait. State Route 4, part of the John Muir Parkway, runs through town as a freeway, with exits at Alhambra Avenue, Pine Street and Center Avenue, Morello Avenue and Pacheco Boulevard. Interstate 680 crosses the strait into Solano County on the Benicia-Martinez Bridge, and the toll plaza on the Martinez side collects from northbound drivers only.

Tickets in Martinez come from two agencies. The Martinez Police Department patrols city streets. The California Highway Patrol's Contra Costa Area, Dublin Area, Marin Area and Oakland Area serve Contra Costa County, and the Contra Costa Area keeps its office on Blum Road in Martinez. That office patrols Interstate 680 and State Route 4 among other highways. Tickets from both agencies go to Contra Costa County Superior Court.

The California Office of Traffic Safety's 2023 rankings count 38 people killed or injured in Martinez crashes, 88th of 93 cities with 25,001 to 50,000 residents, where 1st is the worst. Five of them were pedestrians, 69th in the group.

The city's Local Roadway Safety Plan, dated March 2024, counted 715 crashes in Martinez from 2017 through 2021. In 32 of them someone was killed or seriously injured, and 14 of those 32 involved people walking or biking. Improper turning caused the most crashes, 40 percent, with unsafe speed second. Alhambra Avenue tops the corridor list, and its stretch from Buckley Street to Bertola Street had 63 crashes, more than any other segment. Seven of the plan's 10 high-crash intersections are on Alhambra Avenue, though Morello Avenue at Arnold Drive heads the list.

In 2026 the City Council approved new posted speed limits from an Engineering and Traffic Survey of 54 street segments, completed in 2025. The changes lower Alhambra Avenue between Franklin Canyon Road and Roanoke Drive from 45 to 40 mph, and Pacheco Boulevard between Arnold Drive and Sunrise Drive and three stretches of Muir Road from 40 to 35.

Martinez holds three court buildings, the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, the A.F. Bray Courthouse and the Spinetta Family Law Center. Even so, the court's page for the Walnut Creek Juvenile and Traffic Center at 640 Ygnacio Valley Road names Martinez among the communities its traffic court serves. That building holds traffic trials and arraignments under DMV court code 07480, and the court answers at (925) 608-1000. Contra Costa assigns traffic cases by where the citation was issued, and the reminder notice names the courthouse for yours.

You request traffic school from the court, and the courtesy notice shows whether you are eligible. The court charges its fine and its own traffic school fee, and the amounts and due date appear on that notice. Mirai Traffic School's course is a separate $24.99. Contra Costa allows traffic school when you hold a valid California license and have not attended one in California in the past 18 months, measured violation date to violation date.

Mirai Traffic School reports your completion to the DMV electronically, and the court retrieves it from there. Under Contra Costa's rules, making sure the certificate reaches the court is still your job, so check your Martinez case before the due date. Completing the course keeps one conviction in any 18-month period confidential and off your driving record.