Traffic School and Defensive Driving Programs
NTSI Executive Committee
Paul Hallums is the President of the National Traffic Safety Institute (NTSI), the nation’s oldest and largest traffic safety and defensive driving program. He is responsible for overseeing all of NTSI’s business functions including accounting, curriculum development, student training, corporate program development, jurisdictional court relations, industry research, community relations, and marketing.
Since 1999, Mr. Hallums has managed the development of some of the nation’s most innovative programs to promote individual safety. These educational programs are available in 28 states and Canada and Mexico, and include traffic citation dismissal courses, court-ordered defensive driving programs, teen driver programs, senior driver programs, road rage/aggressive driving programs corporate safe driver programs, DUI screenings, theft counseling workshops, substance abuse programs, CPR and first aid programs, and civic responsibility programs. Research has shown that the NTSI’s defensive driving curriculum yields a 20 percent reduction in citation recidivism during the first year after attending an NTSI class.
Prior to joining the NTSI staff, Mr. Hallums capped a 29-year career in public service with the Tucson Police Department (TPD). Throughout his tenure at TPD, Captain Hallums pioneered the development of several programs that have been recognized as national models, including the Youth Can Prevent Crime Too program, which was launched in 1983. He was also instrumental in developing the Pima County Coalition for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and lead a multidisciplinary process which resulted in a new law enforcement curriculum for Pima Community College. Captain Hallums held a command assignment as Director of Training at the Arizona State Law Enforcement Training Academy and Commanded Personnel and Training for the Tucson Police Department.
As Commander of Police Technical Services he over saw the development and administration of Federal Grant Funds for “Cop Link”, an innovative distributive crime analysis program based on DARPA intelligence systems. He administered various state and federal training grants, a grant for police communications systems, capital improvement grants, and grant funds for various crime and traffic enforcement programs.
Just prior to his retirement, he piloted the effort to research, plan, and implement a new reorganization plan for the Tucson Police Department and its 1500 personnel.
Mr. Hallums received a Master’s Degree in Education from Northern Arizona University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Arizona. He also completed the Senior Management Institute for Police program delivered by the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.
John K. Murphy, J.D. M.S, PA-C, FACC is the Chief Executive Officer for the National Traffic Safety Institute, one of the nation’s oldest and largest traffic safety and defensive driving program.
Prior to joining NTSI, Mr. Murphy completed a 32 year career in the fire service retiring as a Deputy Fire Chief for Eastside Fire & Rescue (Issaquah WA) and Fire Chief of the City of Sammamish (WA). In his fire service career, he rose in the ranks from a firefighter/paramedic to Chief Officer with extensive experience in curriculum development and implementation of training programs, organization development, management and training of executive level managers, and health and safety programs. Mr. Murphy is an attorney with experience in employment practice liability, organizational policies development and implementation, medical liability and malpractice, risk management and human resource management. He lectures on those subjects to a national audience in various conferences and seminars. He has been instrumental in the reorganization of small to medium sized businesses and public safety organizations; has experience in organizational development and management, and consulting with and training private and public entities in effective organizational management, strategic planning, personnel strategies and goal setting. Since 1977, Mr. Murphy has been licensed and practiced as a Physician Assistant in the State of Washington specializing in Emergency Medicine and Family Practice.
Mr. Murphy received a Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law, a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Health Education from Central Washington University and graduated from the University of Utah’s School of Medicine’s Physicians Assistant Program. He is a member of the Washington State Bar Association, King County Bar Association, the U.S. District Court/Western Division, the American Bar Association and a Fellow with the American College of Clinicians. He is also a member of several fire service organizations promoting excellence in leadership; is the Chairman for the Overlake Hospital @ Issaquah Board of Advisors and the Secretary to the Board of Trustees for Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington.