It is never a good feeling when you see those flashing red lights in your rear view mirror.\u00a0 Now what do you do? The process can be a bit confusing, but if you make the smart move and choose to take a defensive driving course to keep the violation off your record this guide will help simplify things:<\/p>\n
Taking a Texas Defensive Driving\u00a0Course for your ticket –<\/strong> This is a highly recommended option because by successfully completing\u00a0a 6 hour TEA approved defensive driving course (online or classroom), you will keep the ticket off of your driving record, which will save you\u00a0from any\u00a0increases in auto insurance premiums\/surcharges or points from the DPS.\u00a0\u00a0Here are the steps to complete a defensive driving course in Texas:<\/p>\n 1.<\/strong> Notify the Court of your intention –<\/strong> The Court must know that you plan to take defensive driving for the ticket, otherwise you will be required to pay the full fine, or worse have a warrant out for your arrest.\u00a0 Follow the instructions on the ticket itself for details.\u00a0 If you cannot contact the Court via phone or mail to make your request, you can always appear on the date listed on the ticket and make the request in person.\u00a0 The Court will first determine if you are eligible.\u00a0 For example, if you were speeding more than 25 miles per hour over the limit or you have a Commercial Drivers License, then you are not eligible to take defensive driving.\u00a0 If eligible, the Court will then require that pay the Court Fee (usually $120-$180) and they will give you 90 days (sometimes up to 180) to successfully complete a Texas Education Agency approved driver safety\u00a0a.k.a. defensive driving course.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Complete the Course –<\/strong> Texas defensive driving courses are available in\u00a0online or live formats.\u00a0 All Texas courses approved for traffic ticket dismissal by the Texas Education Agency must be 6 hours in length (internet or classroom).\u00a0 The benefit of the online course is that you can log in and out of the course as needed and you can take it from any computer with internet access 24\/7.\u00a0 Classroom based courses are typically taught on Saturdays where you complete all 6 hours in one day.\u00a0 Some schools offer weekday classes and break up the course into two 3 hour sessions.\u00a0Texas law requires that a approved Texas defensive driving course must be at least $25, which is the current price for most online and live classes today. 3.\u00a0 Present the Certificate to the Court –<\/strong> Once you receive the completion certificate, you\u00a0must sign and present it to the Court by their appointed deadline (typically 90 days from the date that you request to take defensive driving).\u00a0 Some courts will also require that you\u00a0obtain a copy of your\u00a0Texas Driving Record or complet a Court affidavit form that must\u00a0be notarized prior to presenting all of your information and certificate to the\u00a0Court.<\/p>\n In most cases choosing to take a defensive driving course for your ticket\u00a0is the least expensive option and will save you from insurance premium increases, DPS points, and possible license suspension in the future.\u00a0\u00a0In\u00a0addition,\u00a0you will learn some useful information on how to become safer on the roadways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are you clear on what to do after you get a traffic ticket? This Texas defensive driving guide will take you step by step through the process so that you can keep you driving record clean, which ultimately can save you money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19,21],"tags":[121,35,54,122,36],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions\/164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drivertrainingassociates.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTexas law also requires that defensive driving completion certificates be sent via the mail, so\u00a0whether you choose an online or live class you should factor\u00a03-5 business days for certificate delivery following course completion unless you request express delivery.<\/p>\n