Earlier this summer, I got a speeding ticket in Marin County and elected to take traffic school. The court gave me 60 days to complete the schooling. Of course, I waited until today (57 days) to look at the letter they sent me. It read:
“PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COURT DOES NOT ACCEPT HOME STUDY OR INTERNET TRAFFIC SCHOOL.”
Actually, the entire letter was written in capital letters, but that’s a gripe for another post.
Great. Apparently Marin county isn’t aware of this thing called the Internet. So, I searched Google for a list of approved traffic schools for California. Of the 25 schools that operate in San Francisco, a only five of them had websites and only two offered online booking. One of the numbers even connected me to an advertisement for a phone chat line instead of a traffic school (brilliant scam, by the way). Of course, you wouldn’t know this from the information provided by the DMV. They just give you a phone number and the (often ridiculous) names of the schools.
Of the two that offered booking online, only one offered a class within the timeframe that I needed. It made me happy that this school also had a simple, easy to understand website that didn’t require me to enter a credit card or any information that I thought was unnecessary to be able to make the reservation. (See my choice at the end of this post.)
So, in case you’re unlucky enough to get a ticket in one of the few counties in California that doesn’t accept certificates from internet traffic schools, here’s what I found when I called the traffic schools in San Francisco:
Great Comedians Traffic School
800-925-1707
http://greattrafficschool.net/
You can sell them your email address for $3 (they email a coupon to you)
No information about class times on the web
Pizza 4U – Great Comedians
800-775-5233
No website
Improv, The Comedy Club Presents
800-775-5233
http://www.trafficschoolbyimprov.com/
Save $3 on all CA classroom registrations when you pre-pay by credit card. Promo code: CACLASS
Class times are available on the web
ASAP Traffic School
800-760-0923
No Website
Fun N Cheap Traffic School
800-748-5933
No Website
National Traffic Safety Institute
800-732-2233
http://www.ntsi.us/
No information about class times on the web
Great Classes on Sat/Sun/Days/Eve
800-500-2307
Announced the school as Pizza 4U when they answered
No website
Pacific Seminar Traffic Safety, Inc.
800-448-4140
No website
Gay Community Traffic School
800-429-4968
No website
Comedy School
800-341-5554
No website
Lettuce Amuse U Comedy Traffic School
800-286-8051
No website
The Smart Choice Traffic School
800-279-3095
The number is an advertisement for a “talk line” (like a telephone chat room, I guess)
Great Traffic Safety Classes
800-257-5357
No website
Cheap School
800-234-7283
No answer (apparently, they’re that cheap!)
Comedy For Less Traffic School
800-218-0013
No website
Academia De Trafico en Espanol
415-865-0900
No website, but the operator did speak a little english, which was nice
SF Bay Driving & Traffic School
415-759-9500
http://www.sfbaytvscounseling.com/
Spoke to Josh who was helpful
Sunset Traffic Academy
415-753-1397
No website
A-Safe Way Driving School, Inc.
415-665-1133
http://drivingthesafeway.com/
Nice, simple website…and you can sign up online!
Rosy Driving And Traffic School
415-587-1233
No answer – went to voice mail
Days, Evenings, Weekends D.E.W.
415-558-9899
No website – the operator, Megan, was nice
Nu Tech Driving & Traffic School
415-468-1288
No answer – went to voice mail
Les Driving & Traffic School
415-441-7855
No answer – went to voice mail
Speed Traffic School
415-333-1300
No answer – no voice mail (rang for a couple minutes)
New Chinatown Traffic School
415-221-9050
No answer – went to voice mail
The school I chose: A-Safe Way Driving and Traffic School
In addition to the nice things I mentioned above, it cracked me up that they list the instructor as the “legendary” Mr. Lee. I imagine this guy will be as into driving safety as my high-school driver’s ed instructor, Mr. Hanley, which should make for an entertaining afternoon. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Update: Mr. Lee was quite the character. I have a feeling that most of the stories he told were fabricated, but they were all entertaining. I found myself laughing at the ridiculousness of them quite often.
It’s also worth noting that Mr. Lee is quite religious. His personal philosophy is what I can only describe as a blend of Catholicism and Buddhism. If you have a problem with people relating everything back to the “word of god,” then A-Safe Way Driving and Traffic School may not be for you.
As a Bright, I don’t believe in god, but I didn’t have a problem with Mr. Lee’s style. He actually had an easy way about himself and I came away with a renewed appreciation for the things in life that really matter: friends, family, health, etc.
It's definitely not the perfect traffic school for everyone, but it was good enough to recommend.
