Why would you want to spend 6 hours of your busy life in traffic school? There are a couple of different circumstances that might motivate you to take a defensive driving course. Most of the people who take a driving safety course in Texas are there because they've gotten a traffic ticket. According to Article 45.0511 of the Texas State Code of Criminal Procedure, under certain circumstances you can have a ticket dismissed if you take a state-approved defensive driving course.

To qualify, you must not have taken a defensive driving course within the past 12 months, and you must provide the court with a certified copy of your driving record to prove this. Most moving violations, such as speeding tickets, can be dismissed by taking traffic school. To request this option, you must either appear in court or contact the court in writing. The judge assigned to your case has the final say over whether or not your request is granted, but if you have a good driving record this usually isn't a problem. Typically, the judge will give you 90 days to complete the defensive driving course.

Why should you go to traffic school instead of simply paying the fine? If you just pay the fine without attending a defensive driving class, the ticket will go on your driving record. If it goes on your record, you could have both the state and your insurance company coming after your wallet. Texas has a driver improvement initiative called the Driver Responsibility Program. Under this program, if you get 6 driving points on your record in a 3-year period, you have to pay a $100.00 surcharge to the state. If you have more than 6 points, you will pay an extra $25.00 for each additional point. One moving violation is 2 points. If the violation results in an accident, it’s three points. As you can see, it doesn't take very many speeding tickets to put yourself in the danger zone, so it's important to take a defensive driving course and dismiss the ticket if the option is available.

Insurance companies will also surcharge you for traffic tickets-and they don't even wait for you to get to 6 points before they start increasing your premium! Taking a defensive driving course and getting your ticket dismissed will keep your rates from going up. By law, they are not allowed to charge you for the ticket if you get the ticket dismissed. Additionally, most insurance carriers offer a driver improvement discount for taking the course. According to the Texas Department of Education website, the insurance discount is usually around 10% and is good for 3 years. So, even if you have never had a ticket and don't intend to get one, taking a defensive driving course is still a good investment.

Once you complete the course, the driver safety school will mail you a certificate of completion that you can take to court and/or present to your insurance company. With some course providers, it may take up to 15 business days for you to receive your certificate, so plan ahead and don't put off taking the class until the last minute. If you take a defensive driving course through Driving University, we’ll send your certificate out via first class mail the same day you finish, if you finish before 3 pm. If you need it even sooner, we can also overnight it to you via FedEx for an additional $22.75.