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.

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.

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.

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.

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