Can driving safety courses be used to dismiss one or more moving traffic offenses?

General information:

• Driving Safety Course may be used to dismiss ONLY ONE moving traffic offense.
• You must provide written notice to the Court by appearance date on citation.
• It must be made in person, by counsel, or by certified mail. (If you are under age 17, you must appear in open court with a parent or guardian to make the request.) If you were operating a motorcycle, you must take a motorcycle operator’s training course. If you are charged with allowing a child to ride unsecured in a seat belt or a child passenger safety seat system, you must take a special driving safety course that has four hours training on child passenger safety seat systems.

At the time of the request, you must do the following:

• Plead guilty or no contest;
• Pay court costs - $129.10 ($154.10, if offense committed in a school zone), $10 administrative fee is included;
• Present proof of financial responsibility (insurance); and
• Present a Texas driver’s license or permit, or present proof of being a member of the United States Military forces serving on active duty.

To be eligible, you:

• Cannot have taken a driving safety course or motorcycle operator course for a traffic offense within the last 12 months from the date of the current offense;
• Cannot be currently taking the course for another traffic violation;
• Cannot be the holder of a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or held a CDL at the time of the offense;
• Have not committed one of the following offenses:
  • Failure to Give Information at Accident Scene;
  • Leaving Scene of Accident;
  • Passing a School Bus;
  • A serious traffic violation, which applies to commercial motor vehicle operators;
  • An offense in a construction maintenance work zone when workers are present; or
  • Speeding 25 mph or more over limit and not more than 94 MPH.

The case will be deferred for 90 days. During that time you must:

• Complete a driving safety course approved by the Texas Education Agency or a motorcycle operator’s course approved by the Department of Public Safety and present the completion certificate to the court.
• Present a certified copy of your driving record from the Department of Public Safety that shows that you have not had a driving safety course within the preceding 12 months from the date of the current offense; and
• Swear to an affidavit that you were not taking a driving safety course at the time of the request for the current offense and that you have not taken one that is not shown on your driving record.

If you do not present the required documents in time, the court will notify you to return to court and explain why you failed. The judge may, but is not required to, allow you to file the proper papers at that time. Your failure to be present at that hearing will result in a conviction, a fine being assessed, and a warrant for your arrest being issued.