Arizona motorists are soon going to have twice as many chances to get out of their speeding tickets.
Current law allows a citation to be wiped out once every 24 months by attending a four-hour defensive driving class. The legislation signed Monday by Gov. Doug Ducey now makes that an option once every 12 months.
What's important is that going to the class -- or taking it online -- does more than dismiss the ticket. It also ensures that the motorist's insurance company is never notified and never has the chance to raise that person's premiums. That's why insurance industry lobbyists worked to kill the bill. They said not allowing their clients to raise the rates for bad drivers means higher costs for everyone else.
But gubernatorial spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said his boss disagrees.
"Defensive driving school is a benefit to people. They learn from it. And it's also a disincentive to speeding. So the governor believes this is good policy," Scarpinato said.
But don't put the pedal to the metal just yet. The new law does not take effect until July 3.