Traffic School Procrastinators

In 1979, the Orange County Municipal Court and the county administrators saw fit to regulate the operation of traffic school by instituting a contract program held in the courthouses. This was to guard against canceled classes, classes held in bowling alleys and to improve the quality of the curriculum. The program is now considered by many to be a model for the entire state.

Regrettably, on July 11 and 18, a number of people were turned away from one of our locations because every available seat had been filled. These unusually large turnouts were a direct result of no classes having been held on July 4th and, as Grant Howlett pointed out (letter to the editor July 25), many folks wait to the last possible minute to attend. When it became apparent that not everyone would be admitted, I tried to accommodate as many as I could, especially those from outside of Orange County (some from as far away as San Francisco).

Howlett complained that the “procrastinators were rewarded.” In review of his record, he had nearly four months from the time he got the ticket to complete traffic school, but he waited until almost the last minute. Since, 1979, over half-a-million Orange County residents have attended traffic school. Fortunately, they didn’t all procrastinate.

PHILLIP D. MCGRAW

Vice President

Academy of Defensive Driving