There are three reasons to take a Texas Defensive Driving Course. You have received a traffic ticket and want to have it removed from your driving record, you want to receive a discount on your insurance rates or you just want to educate yourself about driving safely. The course can be taken online, in a classroom or by taking home a video or DVD.
By Texas state law, an approved course must cost at least twenty-five dollars. You may pay less than $25.00 if completing the course for your own knowledge or for the insurance discount but you cannot use the course certificate for dismissal of a traffic violation. The Texas Education Agency must have approved the course, it has to last six hours and you have to finish the full six hours to earn your certificate.
You may only take a course once over twelve months and you must take the course after you receive the ticket in order to have your ticket dismissed. The court can only dismiss one charge for each course.
Before taking the defensive driving course to get your ticket dismissed, get permission from the court. A majority of the courts require you to ask them first and they have the final say as to whether or not your ticket can be dismissed by taking the course.
According to Texas law, you will need to meet three requirements to be eligible to use a defensive driving course to have a charge dismissed. You cannot have a Commercial Drivers License, you must agree that you are guilty or give a signed statement verifying that you will not fight the ticket and if you were caught speeding, you must not have been driving more than twenty five miles above the limit.
If you receive a traffic ticket in Texas and your driver’s license is from out of state, it may be possible to take the course and have your ticket dismissed. The judge will decide whether or not to allow you to do so.
If you are taking the course to get a reduction in your insurance rates, check with your insurance company before you take the class to make sure they will give you a discount. The discount may be up to 10% of the liability portion and is usually good for up to 3 years.
After you complete your course, the course provider will mail you a completion certificate. They are not required to live in Texas, so your certificate may come from another state. By state law, the provider has up to 15 working days after your successfully complete the requirements to mail you a completion certificate. If you have a court date, be sure to take the course well ahead of your court date to be sure you receive your certificate in time.
Your course provider will send you 2 certificates. The first one will be for the court and the second is for your insurance company. Make a duplicate for your records in case you decide to switch insurance carriers before the three year time period is up.
Follow these guidelines and the time and money you spend to take the Texas Defensive Driving Course will be well worth it.
Now you can SAVE MONEY on your insurance when you participate in a Texas defensive driving course. Find out the simple steps to get started today at http://www.funandsafedriving.com/texas-defensive-driving.html now!
