THAT'S THE TICKET GET ONLINE AND NIX THAT CITATION.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

You've just rolled past a stop sign and been handed a most unwelcome piece of paper by a police officer who was lurking behind a nearby hedge. A few phone calls later, a court officer tells you that you can make things right by giving up a few hours of your life to (shudder!) traffic school.

Now you have a choice:

A. Spend eight hours in a classroom, watching films, playing games and interacting with an instructor and classmates.

B. Take the class at home, at your leisure, interacting only with your computer.

Oh, sure, option A has its perks (who knows? the love of your life could be in sitting in that classroom), but the ease and convenience of the Internet combined with a veritable bloom in the number of providers has more and more people making a bee line for option B.

People who have erased their ticket from the comfort of their home or office say the experience sure beats sacrificing a Saturday listening to someone who thinks he's a comedian lecture you about drunken driving and road rage.

``I took traditional traffic school 15 years ago, and there is no comparison,'' said Lisa Wiles of West Hills, who erased a speeding ticket through the On-Line Traffic School. ``They actually made it somewhat humorous, and I didn't feel like I did when I was in class and there was a boring person lecturing me.''

``I wish the officer who had given me the ticket had been as pleasant to deal with as the class,'' she added.

Don't get the wrong idea, though - the Internet is not your easy way out.

You'll still have to spend several hours boning up on road regulations and pass a written test to prove the information has penetrated your brain. But with an online (or home study) program, you can take the course at your leisure, pausing to answer the phone, take a nap or write your Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

And before you even think about cheating, keep in mind that the site operators designed the programs with safeguards against fraudulent test-takers.

Operators say an online course is an awfully attractive alternative for the single parent who would otherwise have to shell out significant bucks for baby-sitting costs; to women in the later stages of pregnancy or to someone with a disability for whom sitting several hours in a classroom would be inconvenient or seriously uncomfortable; or to motorists who were ticketed a long distance from home.

Without a single, all-encompassing regulatory agency, there's no way to determine how much traffic school business goes to online companies. Since the Web is still very much a middle- to upper-middle-class medium, online operators point out that large segments of the population don't have access to a computer, much less the opportunity to spend several hours online reading about the difference between a green and yellow curb.

``I can't imagine traditional traffic schools having problems,'' says Joel Yarbrough, chief operator of the Oakland-based Clicklearning.com and WebTrafficSchool.com. ``We have just opened people's eyes to the existence of the option.''

The online courses all work about the same way. You pay your fee (via a credit card or check), read the course work, take pop quizzes periodically at the end of chapters, and take an all-encompassing final exam at the end. Once you pass, the Web school sends your certificate of completion to the court that has jurisdiction over your violation. And, as with a classroom traffic school, your driving record is cleared of the infraction once the course is completed. Drivers can only erase one ticket every 18 months via any traffic school.

Officials from the county superior court systems - which are ultimately responsible for sanctioning the growing number of online traffic schools - say the feedback they receive from mandatory surveys are overwhelmingly positive. Whether the program is in a booklet, on video, CD ROM or the Internet, customers love the home-study option.

The popularity also accounts for the boom in the online traffic school market. In 1997, when Lisa Warren developed the nation's first Internet- based traffic school (the Westlake Village-based On-Line Traffic School), her only competition was a video program available through Blockbuster video.

Three years later, the market is flooded.

``They've copied our name and even our home pages, unfortunately,'' said Warren, who claims her program is the first and largest program on the market. ``But it is good for the industry. People find it more convenient than sitting in class.''

Web traffic schools have tried to price each other out of the market (courses average $20 to $25) and often look for a competitive edge by offering everything from a better-written program to superior customer service. When not competing for business, they've formed the Association of Online Traffic Safety Educators - to set industry standards and have even hired a Sacramento-based lobbyist to battle a state assembly bill, which, if passed, would require students to take a proctored test.

The bill, AB 681, written by state assemblyman Thomas Calderon, D- Montebello, has operators concerned about a provision that would require attendees to take a proctored final exam. Such a move would compromise the attractiveness of the home study option, according to home traffic school proponents. The bill is in the senate transportation committee.

The problem with online traffic schools, say officials from the Department of Motor Vehicles, is the potential for beating the system. How does a Web school operator guarantee the student on the other end of the keyboard, the one busily typing in quiz answers in an effort to purify his or her driving record, is the person who actually got the ticket in the first place?

The potential for fraud is the reason the DMV has avoided regulating online traffic schools, despite the fact the online course work is based on information from the DMV manual.

``We're not wanting to license a system that has no way to verify that the person who got the ticket is actually attending,'' said Evan Nossoff, a DMV spokesman.

With a little ingenuity, you can get someone to do it, say traffic school operators, but most traffic offenders will find it isn't worth the effort. Not only do you have to find someone willing to give up his time, but you have to trust that person with privileged information. And both of you face felony charges if caught.

Internet traffic schools install various safeguards, such as pop-up questions that ask the student for the type of personal information nobody but the person who got the ticket should have. Future cheat-proof upgrades could include such features as fingerprint identification to voice recognition, although the fancier you get, the more likely you are to lose customers, say operators.

Still, that's not to say Internet traffic schools can't be high-tech. Remember the boom of classroom traffic schools that promised to be better, smarter, funnier? Their Web counterparts say they still have to develop a gimmick.

``It's hard to deliver pizza over the Internet,'' said Yarbrough, ``but somebody will get there.''

One violation, so many choices

Web-savvy road violators take heart: There are more than 20 online traffic schools competing for business. Of course, the court with jurisdiction over your ticket is the ultimate arbitrator of which courses - home study or classroom - they'll accept. So, before selecting a program, check with the court first.

If the court gives you a choice of more than one program, do some smart shopping. Ask to check out a program free of charge before you commit, and compare it to the formats of other programs. Some schools will quote you one price to take the course and charge you additional fees for extras like mailing fees. Others may drop their price if you say a competitor is offering less.

Among the options available:

--Web Traffic School, [phone], www.WebTrafficSchool.com

--Home Traffic School, [phone], www.HomeTrafficSchool.com

--Homestead Traffic School, [phone], www.hmall.com/traffic. Also offers handbook and video courses.

--Traffic School On-Line, [phone], www.trafficschoolonline.com

--On-Line Traffic School, [phone], www.onlinetraffic.com

--Traffic School to Go, [phone], www.trafficschooltogo.com

--Ticket Erasers, [phone], www.ticketerasers.com

--Internet Traffic School, [phone], www.internet-trafficschool.com

- Evan Henerson

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) E-RASE THAT TICKET!

Online traffic schools allow drivers to eliminate citations at their leisure

(2) Lisa Warren, with Daniel Luna, operates an online traffic school out of Westlake Village, and says despite the competition from videos available for rent and other Web sites, ``... it is good for the industry. People find it more convenient than sitting in class.''

David Crane/Staff Photographer

Box: One violation, so many choices (See text)