Re: I need driving school!

[Eddi Jew <jew@rysa.dtc.hp.com>]

 > All,
 > 
 > 	Well, I was caught exceeding the speed limit in Flint a couple 
 > months ago 

 > yesterday, I had to go to court.  My lawyer made a deal with the 
 > prosecutor, and if I take a 4 hour driving school, they will dismiss the 
 > ticket entirely, no points, no fine!

In CA, I not sure it's "entirely". The good part is the "public" record is
clean (insurance won't see it :) ). The police (of course) will keep it on
record (see below).
   
 > 	I would highly recommend that you employ an attorney next time

In (some parts of?) California, depending on the severity of the 
infraction (running stop signs, light speeding, creative lane-changing, 
seem okay), an attorney may not be required to opt for traffic school.

 > It'll likely cost me a couple hundred in the 
 > end, but that's better than the thousand or two it would cost from the 
 > ticket over the next couple years.

Yes, taking the school route, CA violators pay for the ticket, then a fee 
for the school, then maybe a separate processing (priviledge?) fee. Still
a good investment, esp. if your carrier is particular about those things.

There are limits to how often you are allowed to (re)take the school. It
has to do with previous infractions and how many different levels of
traffic schools are offered. Yes, students, you too have the option to
go to "Traffic School III- The Sequel". Some say one class every two years,
or maybe the option of TS-I, II, and III within (and every?) two years (up
to three infractions cleared). 

BTW, 
TS-I had the "scare/gore-movies" approach. 

TS-II had the semi-light-hearted, "Goofy the Movie- how not to drive", 
followed by a refresher of the rules-of-the-road (all these films seem 
to be from the 60's- one "expert" changed lanes in the middle of the 
intersection :) ). 

TS-III attempted to reach into your psyche to make you ask, "Why do you 
do the things you do? Can you see/catch yourself before you do it?". One 
student, an M.D., said he was doing an experiment, trying to understand, 
first hand, what the big deal was about Vallium.  He said, "It's not like 
you didn't see the red light- you just didn't care." 

Overall, TS-III was the one "someone very close to me" was able to stay 
awake in. The rest were a wasted weekend.

This info is about 8-10 years old, so any updates from others out there 
are welcomed. 

Sorry for the non-Audi post/reply. But I was in an Audi at a few 
unfortunate times.

-- Eddi

 > Later,								
 > Graydon D. Stuckey							
 > 	
 > graydon@apollo.gmi.edu						
 > 		
 > '86 Audi 5000 CS Turbo Quattro, GDS Racing Stage II			
 > 	
 > '85 Mazda RX7 GS 12A-leaning-towards-a-13B-soon