If you are pulled over in Austin Texas for a traffic violation, a Austin Texas law enforcement officer will likely issue you a citation. On your citation you will find contact information for the Austin Texas court overseeing your traffic violation. Whether you would like to protest the violation in court or simply pay your fine, you must contact the Austin Texas court and disclose your decision within ten day of being issued your citation, or risk heavier fines and other penalties. Should you choose to simply pay the fine, the Austin Texas court will be able to tell you over the phone what payment methods you can use, as each Texas county differs with regard to credit cards, cash and other forms of accepted payment. In some case, if your violation is severe or you are under the age of 18, the Austin Texas court may inform you that your appearance in court is required. In that event, your court date will likely be on the citation. If not, ask the court when you phone in.

If you are found guilty or plead guilty to a traffic violation, including if you simply pay the fine, you are likely to
receive points against your Texas driving record based on the Texas Responsibility Program. While some violation, such as speeding by less than ten percent of the posted speed limit, are exempt from point accumulation, nearly all other violations follow a simple formula. If you have incurred a traffic citation for a violation, the Texas Department of Public Safety will assess two points against your driving record. If your violation has resulted in an accident, three points are attached to your Texas driver record. These points will also be attached if you obtain a citation in another state that would have resulted in points being placed on your record had it been received in Texas.

In addition, if your violation is for driving under the influence, failing to obtain proper insurance driving without a proper license, you are likely to be subject to annual fines, called, “Conviction Based Surcharges,” for each of the three years the offense remains on your driving record. Thus, if you are pulled over and are found to be driving without insurance, you will be fined three times for the single offense, in addition to points being assessed against your Texas driving record.

Once you have amassed six points on your record within a three year timeframe, the Texas Department of Public Safety will suspend your Texas driving privileges. Even if you have managed to avoid the point accumulation but have obtained four traffic violations in a year, or seven in two years, your Texas driving privileges will also be
suspended. if you are a juvenile driver unrer the age of 18, just two traffic violations in one year will result in a
temporary suspension of yoru Texas driving privileges. Again, these violations will include any citations you received outside the state.

In addition to the costs of living without your driving privileges, the court fees and possible Conviction Based Surcharged that go along with certain traffic citations on your Texas driver record, you are likely to incur significant fines associated with getting your license reinstated. It is in your best interest and the best interests of your pocketbook that you avoid accumulating traffic violations on your Texas driver record.

Thankfully, the Texas Education Agency allows Austin Texas drivers to attend a driver safety program, including online defensive driving programs such as those offered by Getdefensive.com, in order to have as much as one ticker per year removed from their Texas Department of Public Safety driving record. In order to receive this beneficial treatment, you must obtain permission from the Austin Texas court overseeing your violation. The Austin Texas court’s approval will depend on factors such as the amount of tickets already on your driving record and the number of times you have already attended driver safety school or participated in a defensive driving program. If it appears you have not learned enough from traffic school to be a safe driver after several times, a Austin Texas court may deprive you of another opportunity. Further, if your offense is of an extreme nature, such as leaving the scene of an accident, a court will likely not grant you this privilege. If you are given such an opportunity, however, a Austin Texas online defensive driving program will remove the underlying offense from your Texas driving record, not only preventing you from accumulating points that could result in your license being suspended, but also preventing possible redundant conviction surcharges and the costs of getting your driving privileges reinstated.

Avoiding points on your driving record and a potential suspension of your driving privileges are not the only benefits you will receive from participating in a Austin Texas online driver safety program through Getdefensive.com. By participating in an online defensive driving program, you will learn valuable safe driving skills that will help you avoid costly accidents and traffic violations in the future. Also, the cleaner you keep your Texas driving record, the more likely a Austin Texas court will be willing to offer you lenient alternatives in the event you should find yourself involved in a future incident.

Finally, your Texas driving record has a significant impact on your insurance costs. Each traffic violation incurred is forwarded to insurance providers, who commonly raise insurance premiums for unsafe drivers. While Texas law protects the insured from having their rates raised simply for paying a traffic citation, after three citations your insurance can be cancelled and your chances for finding a new insurer that will charge you similar premiums is very small. It is better that you actively keep your driving record as clean as possible to avoid these unfortunate consequences.

In addition to keeping your insurance premiums low, many auto insurers provide discounts for safe drivers. One way to show a safe driving record is to participate in Getdefensive.com’s online defensive driving program. For Austin Texas drivers over the age of 55 and drivers under the age of 18, many auto insurers provide additional insurance reductions, specifically to promote safe driving techniques and defensive driving skills in drivers who are statistically more likely to commit traffic violations. If you are a mature driver of the age of 55, a juvenile driver under the age of 18 or a parent of a juvenile driver, you should reach out to your auto insurance provider to find out if an online driver safety program will help you secure insurance discounts, in addition to helping you learn defensive driving techniques that will allow you to avoid accidents or violations in the future.

Getdefensive.com offers many forms of home-study Texas defensive driving course, including Austin Texas online defensive driving, Austin Texas DVD video defensive driving and Austin Texas streaming video defensive driving which can be viewed on your home computer. All of these will help you obtain insurance reductions, ensure ticket dismissals, and have points removed from your Texas driving record.

However, some people feel more comfortable learning in a traditional classroom setting than taking a driver safety program from the comfort of their own home. If you would like to participate in a defensive driving program to help lower your insurance costs, secure a ticket dismissal from your Texas driving record or because you were ordered to do so by a Austin Texas court, you should ask the Austin Texas court overseeing your citation and they will be happy to provide you with a list of brick and mortar traffic schools in and around Austin Texas when you call in to discuss your citation.