McHenry County College traffic safety program sees enrollment decline as fewer tickets issued

As area police are sending far fewer traffic tickets to the McHenry County court system than in previous years, a relevant program run by McHenry County College also has been seeing slightly fewer students.

Held at the college's Shah Center in McHenry, the traffic safety school program is the product of a 16-year-old agreement between the two entities, under which the college runs an alternative sentencing program for traffic violators who received a ticket. Taking the courses can, in some circumstances, help violators avoid a conviction on their driving record.

There are two defensive driving courses, one for first-time offenders or those with minor violations – this one also is offered online – and another for someone who already has completed the first class and/or who has multiple violations, according to the traffic school website. A third course called Alive at 25 specifically targets drivers ages 16 to 24, and is designed to reduce the number of injuries and collisions within that age group.

Terri Berryman, McHenry County College’s executive dean for workforce and community development, said she has in recent years seen a very gradual decline in overall, annual enrollment in those courses. It’s a trend, she said, that could be linked to a downswing in tickets given through the county’s court system.

“Hopefully it means people are driving safer, but it also depends a lot on weather conditions per year – people may not be out driving as much depending on that,” Berryman said. “Really, there are a variety of factors as to why enrollment could decline or rise ... but it could be the general decline in the number of tickets [being issued].”

In a seven-year span ending in 2014, the number of traffic tickets filed within the McHenry County court system dropped by more than 30,000, from about 80,000 in 2007 to a little more than 46,000 last year, said McHenry County Circuit Clerk Kathy Keefe.

And according to data provided by Berryman, the number of registrations for Traffic Safety School courses stood at 11,560 in 2013, down from 2010 when 13,714 people had registered.

“There are a lot of campaigns out there now on distracted driving, which has been a huge issue, as well as on drinking and driving,” Berryman said in regard to the decline in ticketing. “I think people really do think twice before driving distracted today.”

Keefe added other factors possibly contributing to the reduction in tickets could include fewer grant dollars to agencies to carry out bigger ticketing operations, as well as the recent installation of several red light cameras throughout the county.

Provided by the local college since 1999 after it previously was administered by Northwestern University, the traffic safety school generates a gross revenue of about $300,000 to $400,000 for the college every year, Berryman said.

Part of that goes to covering the cost of instruction materials and staff, while the rest goes toward maintaining Shah Center, a self-supporting entity of the college that doesn’t use taxpayer dollars to operate, she said.

In terms of the gradual decline in enrollment, Berryman said that is not a concern for the college or the program at this point.

“We’re not in this to make money,” she said. “We’re in it to provide a service for the county at large, so as long as the program breaks even – as long as it keeps covering itself, we will continue providing it.”