SAN ANTONIO – From July 2020 to July 2021, roughly 17,400 tickets were issued to people for offenses such as driving with an invalid driver’s license or no license at all. Of those ticketed drivers, about 29% of them were between the ages of 17 and 24.
Because of that, the SA Road Ready Court launched on July 15 to help young drivers get their license.
“What we’ve done with this SA Road Ready Court is create a more structured program,” Municipal Court Presiding Judge Carla Obledo said. “It is a deferred disposition, which is similar to probation, and it contains timelines that individuals need to complete certain requirements.”
The court holds its docket on Thursday afternoons. The ticketed driver meets with the judge and a plan, which includes driver education classes, is laid out. It usually takes around six months to complete.
The ultimate goal for the court is to have an impact on the number of unlicensed drivers in the San Antonio community and help create safer roads.
“Ultimately, we would like to expand this program, but since there’s such a significant number of drivers in this age group that are involved in motor vehicle accidents, that’s why we really wanted to target this group first,” Obledo said.