A fine is not all that comes along with your newly issued citation. The state of Texas also operates the Driver Responsibility Program (“DRP”). The DRP is a monitoring program designed to track your Texas driving record and identify problem drivers based on their traffic history.

The DRP uses a relatively straightforward formula for assessing points against your TX driver record. First, safety belt violations and violations for speeding less than 10% over the posted speed limit results in no additional points on your driving record. Otherwise, all traffic violations result in two points being added to your record. If the violation also caused an accident, you will receive a third point.

These points will appear on your Texas driver record if you are issued a citation outside the state of Texas as well, based on the same formula, as other states will notify the Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees the DRP.

If your violation is severe, such as for driving under the influence, driving without a valid license or violating state automobile insurance mandates, the Department of Public Safety (DPS)will also levy on your annual fines, known as Conviction Based Surcharges. These fines are significant (reaching as high as $2,000) and are imposed not once, but annually for each year the offense remains on your record– a maximum of three years. While it may be convenient to drive without a Texas driver license or a cheap solution to avoid car insurance payments, it is simply not worth it to have to pay in excess of $5,000 over several years, in addition to the initial violation fines, court costs and likely the cost to have your Texas driving privileges reinstated.

The points you accumulate through the Texas Driver Responsibility Program add up quickly. If you incur just six points in three years– one traffic violation per year– the Texas Department of Public Safety will suspend your Texas driving privileges. You can also face suspension if you avoid tallying too many points but are labeled as a “habitual offender.” Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces drivers who incur four violations in two years or 7 in four years are considered habitual offenders by the state of Texas and face suspension of their Texas driving privileges. If you are a juvenile driver under 18 years of age, your driving privileges can be revoked for just two traffic violations in a single year. The violations counting toward a habitual offender moniker, just like points accumulation, include all out of state offenses that would have qualified had they been issued in Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces.

The cost of having your driving privileges reinstated can be hefty and will pile on top of the fines for your most recent violation as well as the costs of appearing in court to defend yourself. It is in your best interest and the best interests of your wallet that you avoid accumulating traffic violations on your Texas driver record.

Should you find yourself in any of the precarious situations above, a Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces defensive driving program may be able to help you avoid the unfortunate consequences. The Texas Education Agency allows Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces drivers to attend a Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces driver safety program, including the Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces online defensive driving courses offered by Getdefensive.com, in order to have up to one traffic violation per year expunged from their Texas Department of Public Safety driving record. In order to receive this benefit, however, you must first receive permission from the Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces court handling your violation when you call in or appear in court. This permission is not guaranteed, however, and will likely be based on the cleanliness of your Texas driving record to date, as well as the severity of your most recent violation. Also, if you have taken ten defensive driving programs and are back for your eleventh, a Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces court may feel that you need a different form of rehabilitation in order to improve your safe driving habits.

However, most often you will be given an opportunity to have the violation removed from your Texas driver record. If you are given such an opportunity, a Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces internet driver safety or Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces internet driver improvement program will not only remove the violation from your record, but will also eliminate the points that would have attached to your record as a result of your guilty plea or conviction. These benefits come in addition to the considerable costs you will avoid by not being labeled a habitual offender or having your Texas drivers license temporarily suspended.

Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces drivers over the age of 55 and juvenile drivers under the age of 18 have an added incentive to enroll in a Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces online defensive driving program: insurance discounts. To promote safe driving, most auto insurers provide additional discounts to both older and younger Texas drivers. If you are a driver under the age of 18 or a parents of a juvenile driver, or you are a mature driver of the age of 55, contact your auto insurance provider to find out if an online driver safety program will help you secure an insurance reduction even before any accident or traffic violation has occurred. This active approach may not just result in lower premiums now, but help keep them low in the event of a future traffic citation.

Some people prefer learning in a traditional classroom setting to the ease of taking a Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces defensive driving program from the comfort of their own home. If you would like to participate in a driver safety program to help lower your insurance costs, to remove a traffic violation from your Texas driving record or because you were ordered to do so by a Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces court, you should ask the Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces court overseeing your citation and they will be happy to provide you with a list of brick and mortar traffic schools in and around Municipal Judge, City of Corpus Christi Nueces when you call into discuss your citation.