The film follows a group of people in Birch County, California (a fictionalized city/county that is similar to real-life Los Angeles) who, after being ticketed for numerous traffic violations (and hence losing their drivers' licenses, and vehicles to impounding), are ordered by Judge Nedra Henderson (Sally Kellerman) to attend a driving course to get their licenses and their vehicles back.

However, the assigned teacher for this course, Deputy Henry "Hank" Halik (James Keach), is conspiring with the judge to execute a plan to ensure these offenders fail miserably, at all costs, so the corrupt duo can sell their impounded vehicles for their own personal gain.

Clues lead one of the traffic offenders, landscaper Dana Cannon (John Murray), to discover their scheme, and he enlists his fellow students to help him stop it.

Writer and director Israel himself attended traffic school after having been pulled over by a police officer, for doing an illegal U turn:[1] "I made the mistake of arguing, and that was very foolish because the cop called in and found I had 13 tickets outstanding.

[4] The film was reviewed poorly by Janet Maslin at The New York Times, who described it as an "especially weak teen-age comedy, even by today's none-too-high standards.