Texas Driving Safety
Course (DSC) Details
The Texas Driving Safety Course (DSC) has been developed
by DTA to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries on
Texas roadways by training drivers in defensive driving
strategies that have been proven to reduce both crashes
and violations among course participants. Since
1977, millions of drivers have benefited from the training
they received in our Driving Safety Course.
Who Can Take the
DSC Course?
The DSC course can be taken by a driver who has been
ordered by a Texas judge or court to attend a driver
improvement course as part of the deferred adjudication
process (ticket dismissal). This is also sometimes referred
to as traffic school or defensive driving school attendance.
A Texas driver can also take the DSC course voluntarily
for a 3-year automobile insurance discount of up to
10%.
NOTE: Drivers who voluntarily attend
BOTH a DSC course and a DADAP course may be eligible
to receive a total insurance discount of 15%.
Other common names for this course include:
Court-Ordered Attendance
After you complete
the course, you will receive a two-part completion certificate
containing an upper portion labeled “COURT”
and a lower portion labeled “INSURANCE.” For
ticket dismissal, copy the “Court” portion
and present it to the court according to the instructions
you have been given. Please note that it is YOUR responsibility
to ensure that the court receives your certificate of
completion.
NOTE: Customers who select "Insurance
Reduction" as their reason for attendance will receive
a single insurance-only certificate for presentation to
their insurance provider.
Insurance Discount
Attendance
You may choose
to complete this course of instruction to qualify for
a 3-year, 10% insurance discount. Driver Training Associates
has been approved by both the Texas Education Agency (CP-090)
and the Texas State Board of Insurance to offer this course
of instruction for the automobile insurance discount benefit
since program inception. In order to receive this discount,
you will need to present the second part of your certificate
of completion (labeled "INSURANCE") to your
insurance carrier. It is advisable to contact your insurance
agent to determine their procedures and your eligibility
for the discount.
What Does the DSC Course
Teach?
The DSC course teaches participants to use DTA's IPDE
(Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute) strategy to anticipate
traffic hazards and deal with them in ways that minimize
risk for the driver. Simulated traffic crash scenarios
are used to demonstrate how the IPDE strategy should be
used in situations such as a rear-end collision, a side-impact
collision, and a passing maneuver collision. Other course
topics include an overview of the highway transportation
system, the dangers of driving after drinking alcohol,
and how to respond properly in emergency driving situations.
DTA's DSC course is the only Texas defensive driving course
that teaches students how to control their emotions and
attitudes through the understanding of the concept of
Attitude States. Using Dr. Eric Berne's groundbreaking
theory of Transactional Analysis (TA), the DSC course
teaches students that each of us has three Attitude States
-- Parent, Adult, and Child -- that constantly influence
our behavior. Learning how to identify these Attitude
States is the key to controlling them, which can be critical
during potentially hazardous activities such as driving
a motor vehicle. Students learn that by remaining in the
Adult Attitude State, they can reduce their chances of
being involved in a crash or of committing a traffic violation
that could result in a citation.
