| |
INFORMATION FOR DRIVING SAFETY CLASS PARTICIPANTS |
There are literally hundreds of schools in Texas authorized to
teach a 6-hour driving safety class (traditional
classroom, video/DVD
take-home, or Internet).
Successful completion of the class will entitle you to a certificate
that Texas courts may honor to dismiss a traffic ticket. And when you
present the course completion certificate to your insurance agent, some
insurance companies will grant you a discount on the liability portion
of your automobile insurance for up to three years. |
|
TEXAS-APPROVED DRIVING SAFETY COURSES |
If you are interested in taking a driving safety course via the
traditional classroom or by renting a videotape or DVD, click
here
for locations in your city. If you would rather take an online driving
safety course, click here. |
All of the TEA-approved courses that are listed at
www.tea.state.tx.us/drive/drivecp.html
may be used to dismiss a Texas traffic ticket. |
By state law, all driving safety courses are now 6 hours in
length, and you must attend
all six hours of the course in order to receive a certificate. |
If you
complete the course in a classroom, those sessions are conducted by a
licensed instructor, and they will consist of either 6 straight hours
(with a lunch break of at least 30 minutes plus other, shorter breaks
each hour or so) or two 3-hour sessions (with short breaks). |
|
COURSES TAKEN VIA AN ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY METHOD (ADM) |
Texas
Education Agency has approved the delivery of specific driving safety
courses via alternative delivery methods (ADM) such as the Internet, CD,
DVD, Cable TV, and Videotapes.
If you take a course via an ADM (that is, not in a classroom), an
instructor will not be present. Periodically during the course, you
will be asked personal questions such as "Is the vehicle you normally
drive a 2-door, 4-door, pickup, or other?" These questions,
which often use third-party databases to verify your answers, are
designed to ensure the identity of the person who is completing the ADM,
and you will also be asked course content questions to ensure that you
are viewing and absorbing the material. |
At your
discretion, you may break up an ADM's online, CD-ROM, DVD, Cable TV, or
Videotaped course into segments of almost any length. You may also take
the course via those means at any time of day or night, and there is a
24 hour-a-day help line available. You will be given that tollfree
number to call if you need technical assistance or have a question about
the course content. |
|
COURSES FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED |
Although
none of the driving safety courses that are taught by an alternative
delivery method have closed captioning (CC), several of the "online"
courses have made an effort to assist the hearing impaired with text
that is adjacent to the video or by other means. Those courses are
identified on the list at
www.tea.state.tx.us/drive/online.html with the symbol
(H) after the course name. |
|
CURSOS EN ESPAÑOL |
Algunos cursos de manejar
a la defensiva han sido aprobados por TEA para que se ofrezcan en
español. Estos cursos se identifican en la siguiente lista course
provider list
con
una
(S)
después del nombre. Además, varios cursos en español se ofrecen
las 24 horas al día en el Internet en
www.tea.state.tx.us/drive/online.html
también identificadas
con
la
(S). |
|
INSURANCE DISCOUNTS |
Some
insurance companies will provide a discount (usually 10%) for three
years on the liability portion of your auto insurance premiums if you
provide proof of completion of one of the approved driving safety
courses. Check with your insurance agent for details. |
|
TICKET DISMISSAL INFORMATION |
Texas state
law allows you to dismiss one traffic ticket every 12 months by taking a
TEA-approved driving safety course. |
Futhermore,
Texas law requires the following: you must NOT possess
a Commercial Driver License (CDL); you must admit guilt or sign a
statement that you do not contest the citation (nolo contendere); and if
you were charged with speeding, you should not be permitted to dismiss
the ticket if you were cited with driving 25 or more miles per hour
above the posted speed limit. There are other criteria, and the court
has the final decision on whether you'll be permitted to dismiss the
ticket by completing a driving safety course. |
Most
municipal court judges and justices of the peace require you to contact
the court before you take the driving safety course for purposes of
ticket dismissal. Be sure to obtain the court's permission first. By
contacting the court that is indicated on your traffic ticket, you may
prevent delays, added expenses, or a requirement that you repeat the
course. |
If the
municipal court or the justice of the peace charges a court fee for you
to take a driving safety course, and if they require you to obtain a
copy of your driving record from the Department of Public Safety
(DPS), those fees are in addition to the price that you will pay for the
driving safety course. |
A
certificate of driving safety course completion cannot be saved and used
for a later traffic violation. You must complete the driving safety
course AFTER the traffic violation, and the court may dismiss only one
charge for each completion of a course. [Code of Criminal Procedure,
Art. 45.0511]. |
If you have
a driver license from another state and receive a traffic ticket in
Texas, you may (with the Texas judge's permission) be allowed to take a
Texas driving safety course to dismiss that ticket - it's up to the
judge. If the judge approves you to complete a Texas driving safety
course for that purpose, you can take it outside of Texas via one of the
approved online courses at
www.tea.state.tx.us/drive/online.html |
|
EXCEPTION FOR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY PERSONNEL |
House Bill
370 was passed in the 79th Regular Session concerning a person on active
military duty who receives a traffic citation but does not have a Texas
driver license. Effective September 1, 2005, that military member is
permitted to dismiss a Texas traffic ticket by taking a TEA-approved
driving safety course if he or she has not completed a driving safety
(or similar) course for ticket dismissal in another state within the 12
months preceding the date of the offense. |
|
COURSE COST |
Texas state
law requires that a person who takes a driving safety course for ticket
dismissal must pay at least $25.
If you take a driving safety
course only for education or insurance discount, you may pay less than
$25 but you cannot use that completion certificate for
dismissal of a traffic ticket. |
|
ORDERING DRIVER'S RECORD |
You may
order your driving record online directly from DPS at
www.texasonline.com and DPS will have it in the mail to you within 5
business days. |
If you
need your record even faster, you can get it that same day at
several locations throughout Texas. |
Driver Records can be obtained the same day in Austin, Garland, and
Universal City: |
Austin:
108 Denson Dr.
Austin, TX 78752-4149
Hours: 8AM – 5PM, Mon-Fri
Street Map |
Garland:
350 West IH-30
Garland, TX 75043
Hours: 8AM – 4:30PM, Mon-Fri
Street Map |
Universal City:
1633 Pat Booker Road
Universal City, TX 78148
Hours: 8AM – 5PM, Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri; 8AM - 7PM, Wed
Street Map |
For Driver Record requests made at the Houston Gessner location, please
allow 5 business days for mail processing time. |
Houston:
12220 S. Gessner Dr.
Houston TX 77071-2831
Hours: 8AM – 5PM, Mon-Fri
Street Map |
|
TEXAS "POINTS SYSTEM" |
Effective September 1, 2003, Texas implemented a
"Points System"!
Points are assessed to a person's driver
license for moving violations classified as Class C misdemeanors, and
effective September 1, 2005, Child Safety Seat Violations are identified
as moving violations. DPS will assess a surcharge when the driver
accumulates a total of six (6) points or more on their driver record
during a three-year period. The driver must pay a $100 surcharge for
the first six points and $25 for each additional point, in addition to
any related services fees. Traffic offenses which result in points are
designated in the chart at
37 TAC §15.89. |
According to
Section 708.052, Texas Transportation Code,
"For each conviction arising out of a separate transaction, the department shall
assign points to a person’s license as follows:
(1) two points for a moving violation of the traffic law of this state or
another state that is not described by Subdivision (2); and
(2) three points for a moving violation of the traffic law of this state,
another state, or a political subdivision of this or another state that resulted
in an accident."
DPS may not assign points to a person's driver's license if the offense
is that of speeding and the person was at the time of the offense
driving less than 10 percent faster than the posted speed limit, or if
the offense was adjudicated by the court under
Article 45.051 or
Article 45.0511, Code of Criminal Procedure; that is, the driving
safety course or the deferred disposition laws. |
|
CERTIFICATE WILL BE MAILED |
Your driving safety course completion certificate will be mailed to you
by the course provider that is
responsible for the specific course that you took, and because the
course provider is not required to reside in Texas, it may be mailed
from as far away as California or Florida. By state law, a course
provider has up to 15 working days after you successfully complete all
requirements of the course to mail your certificate, so you'll need to
take the course well ahead of the deadline imposed by the court. If you
are close to the court's deadline, you may need to pay extra to the
course provider for delivery of your certificate via overnight, one-day,
or two-day delivery. |
The envelope that you receive from the course provider will actually
contain two certificates: one for the court, and the other for your
insurance company. We suggest that you make a copy of the insurance
certificate in case you change insurance companies. The discount (if
offered by your insurance company) is normally valid for 3 years. It is
also suggested that you either handcarry your "Court" certificate to the
court or that you send it to the court via certified mail so as to
arrive by the date previously established by the court. Note: It must
be delivered or mailed by you to the court. The course provider is not
permitted to mail either an original or a duplicate certificate to the
court. |
|
REQUEST FOR A DUPLICATE DRIVING SAFETY CERTIFICATE |
The specific course provider
whose course you completed is the person you'll need to contact if you
need a duplicate certificate. The course name and the course provider's
telephone number should have been given to you when you signed up for
the course, and you should also have been given a telephone number to
call if you didn't receive your certificate within a certain time frame. |
If you don't receive your certificate of course completion by mail
within 15 working days from the date you completed the class, call the
telephone number that was given to you by your instructor. Your
certificate may have been damaged in the mail or had an an insufficient
or incorrect address and returned to the course provider. If so, your
course provider is permitted to remail it to you or to issue a duplicate
certificate and mail it to you at your correct address. |
If the certificate that you receive in the mail has incorrect
information on it, contact your course
provider immediately for corrections. Do NOT use that incorrect
certificate because you will need to return it before a duplicate
certificate may be issued to you. |
|
COMPLAINTS |
If you believe that a driver training class was presented
inappropriately, either due to its content, its presentation, a reduced
class length, or instructor misconduct, please contact the Driver
Training Investigative Unit at
Victor.Alegria@tea.state.tx.us or call (512) 936-6777, or send a
fax to (512) 936-6799. A general complaint form in Microsoft Word
format is at
www.tea.state.tx.us/drive/Complaint.doc.
Please be aware that
if a person took a driving safety class for dismissal of a ticket, but
did not receive the entire 6 hour course, that person is in violation of
state law and subject to penalties if he or she signs and submits the
course completion certificate to the court.
Driver Training Division Investigative Procedures
Formal
- The complaint must:
-
be
in writing (or e-mail);
-
be
routed through the Division Director or Manager in charge of
investigations;
-
contain the name and contact information of the complainant;
-
state the facts on which the complaint is based; and
-
allege a violation that occurred not more than one year prior to
the date that the complaint is received.
Any complaint concerning Public
School will be forwarded to the Superintendent of the Independent
School District involved for resolution.
When a written complaint is
received, the Division Director or Manager will assign a program
specialist to conduct preliminary research. If not already a
part of the complaint, the complainant will be contacted to go over
the allegation and an interview conducted by telephone or in person
by the program specialist to answer questions and/or clarify exactly
what occurred as observed by the complainant. At this time,
the complainant will be informed verbally and in writing as to the
action to be taken by the agency; close the case or open an
investigation. The written notification will be mailed (or
e-mailed) within 30 days of receipt.
If the preliminary research
determines that the formal complaint falls under the jurisdiction of
another party or agency, the program specialist will provide that
information to the complainant in writing (or e-mail) within 30 days
of receipt. If the preliminary research shows that a violation
of applicable Code or Rules exists, the procedures outlined below
for “Formal Investigation Procedures” will be followed. If the
preliminary research shows the complaint does not merit a formal
investigation, Informal procedures may be followed.
Informal
- Anonymous or telephonic complaints will be handled as General File
matters and handled on a case-by-case basis. These cases are
usually consumer satisfaction issues with no violations of Code or
Rule. Upon receipt, a supervisor or program specialist will
advise the complainant of formal complaint procedures if applicable.
Internally initiated investigations
– These situations will be handled on a case-by-case basis as
determined by the Director and are usually the result of on-site
compliance visits or situations where retaliation may be a factor.
These procedures
involve complaints against Commercial and Public-School Driver
Education Schools and Instructors; Commercial Driving Safety Schools
and Instructors; Drug and Alcohol Driving Awareness Schools and
Instructors; and Course Providers which operate under the following
authority:
Commercial: Title 5, Chapter 1001, Texas
Education Code (the Code) –
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/drive/DriverTrainingStatute.pdf
Title 19, Texas Administrative Code, Section 176 (176 (176 (176 (176
(the Ruless
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter176/index.html
Public:
Title 2, Chapter 7, Texas Education Code, §7.021(b)(1)(9); Chapter
11,
§11.158(a)(11); Chapter 29, §29.902(a) and (b); Title 3, Chapter 51,
TEC,
§51.308; and Title 7, Transportation Code, §521.003 (the Code)
for Public Schools -
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/safedriver
Title 19, Texas Education Code, Chapter 75 (the Rules) for
Public Schools -
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/safedriver
|
|
COMPLAINT FORM: MS
WORD Format
Last updated: September 14, 2009
|