Countywide : County to Change Traffic School Firms

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to drop the traffic school that for the past 11 years has had an exclusive contract with the county, worth about $1 million annually.

The Academy of Defensive Driving in San Juan Capistrano has been under fire for several years because of alleged violations of state regulations. It had been placed on probation in 1986 by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Nevertheless, the school was among four finalists on a list submitted to the board by an advisory panel of traffic court commissioners. The panel reviewed bids from 10 firms. The Academy of Defensive Driving was ranked fourth among the finalists while Lettuce Amuse U traffic school, the winning bidder, was ranked first, a county official said. The panel told board members they had included the Academy of Defensive Driving as a finalist primarily because it had the existing contract.

The board voted 4 to 0 to award the new contract to Lettuce Amuse U. The most serious allegations against the Academy of Defensive Driving included accusations by the DMV that the driving school cut classes short and then provided inaccurate certificates of completion. Under state law, drivers who receive traffic tickets may avoid points on their driving records by taking classes at traffic school.

Under the new contract, drivers ticketed in Orange County who opt for traffic school will be taught by professional comedians who work as instructors for the Lettuce Amuse U traffic school, a statewide firm based in San Gabriel.

“The whole focus of our class is that this is very important information,” explained Karen Kiss, program coordinator for the school. “We’re going to do cartwheels or whatever it takes to get your attention so that you’re not sitting there brain dead, bored out of your mind.”

Kiss said the San Gabriel firm is the largest traffic school in the state with 161 locations. Professional comedians hired as instructors by Lettuce Amuse U receive 40 hours of training and must be licensed by the DMV.

Orange and Santa Clara counties are the only counties in California to designate a sole provider for traffic school operations, Kiss said.

Drivers who receive tickets in any other county are given a list of schools from which they must choose, if they opt for traffic school to avoid points on their driving record.