Drivers sentenced to endure dodgy stand-up

Drivers who pick up traffic tickets in California are being sentenced to an unusual punishment - eight hours listening to a stand-up comic.

Out-of-work comedians are being recruited to Los Angeles's growing band of privatised traffic schools, adding a touch of humour to the court-imposed lessons.

Drivers sentenced to attend the schools can choose any classes they like - so around half a dozen comedy-themed courses have sprung up, alongside schools run for ethnic minorities or along religious grounds.

But given the quality of the material the miscreant drivers have to endure, the punishment may be worse than the crime.

Washington Post reporter Paul Farhi recently attended the Improv Comedy Club Traffic School, held in LA's Comedy Underground club, to hear what was on offer.

As 50-year-old comic Stan Schachter told the punters about the rules of the road, he cracked jokes like: "If the officer who stopped you asks, 'Do you have any drugs or weapons in your car?' don't say, 'Why, what do you need?'."

Elsewhere, he awkwardly mangled an Emo Phillips gag: "By and large, [traffic] officers in California are bi and large."

Schachter told Farhi: "People come in in a bad mood and they're sceptical. They've got their arms folded across their chests. They say, 'Make me laugh, Traffic Boy.'

"But you've got a captive audience for eight hours. You can try out new material or practice your old stuff. What comedian doesn't want an audience that can't leave, by law?"

Published: 8 Jul 2003