Santa Clara Traffic School

The Census Bureau estimates 133,446 people in Santa Clara on July 1, 2025. Interstate 280, US 101 and State Route 237 cross the city, and State Route 82 runs through it as El Camino Real. San Tomas, Central and Lawrence Expressways are county-maintained roads inside the city.

Tickets in Santa Clara come from two agencies. The Santa Clara Police Department writes them on city streets. On the freeways, the California Highway Patrol's San Jose, Redwood City and Hollister-Gilroy Areas serve Santa Clara County. Either way the case goes to Santa Clara County Superior Court, because a traffic case must be heard in the county where the citation was written.

The California Office of Traffic Safety's 2023 rankings count 463 people killed or injured in Santa Clara crashes, 42nd of 62 cities of similar size, where 1st is the worst result. Speed-related crashes that killed or hurt someone numbered 69, ranked 39th. Pedestrians killed or injured numbered 30, also 39th, and bicyclists 29, 32nd. The rankings describe the city's roads as a whole, not fault in any one driver's case.

The City Council adopted Santa Clara's Vision Zero Action Plan on March 10, 2026. It aims to end traffic deaths and severe injuries on city roadways by 2050. The plan counted 7,934 collisions from 2016 through 2023 on city streets, county expressways and El Camino Real, not counting highways or private streets. Of those, 51 were fatal and 139 caused a severe injury. About 60 percent of all collisions happened on 16 percent of the roads inside city limits, a High Injury Network that takes in the county expressways and El Camino Real. Unsafe speed was the most common primary collision factor.

Residents who took part in the plan named speeding and distracted driving among their top concerns, and Monroe Street, De La Cruz Boulevard and El Camino Real were among the top locations they raised. In June 2025 the council backed an initiative to cut the speed limit on certain streets around schools from 25 to 15 mph when children are present, and the city has finished installing the new signs.

Santa Clara has a courthouse of its own at 1095 Homestead Road, but the court lists it as temporarily closed and has moved its services to South County. Santa Clara County Superior Court takes traffic tickets at the Family Justice Center Courthouse, 201 North First Street in San Jose, and at the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse, 301 Diana Avenue, and you may go to either. South County's DMV court code is 43635, the Family Justice Center's is not published, and both share the traffic line, (408) 556-3000. The court provides free interpreters in over 50 languages, so tell the clerk your language when you ask for a court date.

You ask the court for traffic school once your citation is in its system. Until then you cannot pay the ticket or sign up, and the court's Case Info website shows whether it has been entered. The courtesy notice that follows lists your options and a due date. The court's bail schedule marks each offense as eligible for traffic school or not, and if your ticket requires a mandatory appearance, you must go to court to set a date first. Choosing traffic school adds a fee for monitoring traffic violator schools, which the court sets and your notice shows. Mirai Traffic School's $24.99 is a separate payment, and state law keeps one traffic school conviction confidential in any 18-month period.

Mirai Traffic School reports your completion to the DMV electronically, and the court retrieves it from there. The court accepts proof of completion only from a school the DMV has licensed, and once the school has notified it, the court says there is nothing further for you to do. Keep Mirai Traffic School's confirmation with your Santa Clara citation number until the court shows the case closed.