Driver Education Course for Adults
If you are between the ages of 18 and 24 in the State of Texas, the law now requires that potential drivers complete a 6-hour adult driver education course to be eligible to get your first driver license.

Although it makes things a bit more difficult for new adult drivers to get a license, they have options on how to take the course.  Most of the commercial driving schools across the state of Texas are approved to offer classroom based courses.  However, there is another option, which is online.

Over the past few months, the Texas Education Agency has approved multiple online adult driver education courses.  Although there are benefits and drawbacks to both approaches to taking the course, many people find that online is the most flexible and convenient way to complete an adult driver education course today.

Flexibility and Convenience
Some Texas residents that must take this course live in remote areas that may not have a classroom course, and  may only conduct a class once every 2-4 weeks.  Why drive a long distance or wait for a class to fit a busy schedule?  The online courses are available 24 / 7 from any computer with Internet access.

Users can log in and out of the course as many times as they like.  The course consists of nine units and users will be required to pass a short quiz following each chapter.  At the end there is a final exam to test the total course comprehension of the user (70% or greater to pass, with three attempts allowed).

Having to take a final exam may seem cumbersome, but it is important to note that the adult driver ed course exam qualifies as a written driver license exam — the same exam that new drivers would otherwise have to take in person at the DMV office when applying for their license.  That is one less thing that has to be done at the local Department of Motor Vehicles Driver License Office.

Once the course has been completed, a certificate of completion is mailed out to the user.  This must be presented to the DMV office to show that the new adult driver education course requirement has been met.  Since the written driving test will have already been completed, the only remaining items are a vision test and a behind the wheel exam.

For those people who feel that the classroom option is the best for them, we recommend that you visit the Texas Education Agency’s website for a listing of the approved adult driver education schools: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/drive/activede.html

About DTA:

Driver Training Associates, Inc. (DTA) is a defensive driving and traffic school course leader with offices in Florida, Texas, and New York.  DTA was started in 1977 as a classroom provider and now offers all of its courses in online formats as well.  The company is approved to offer Texas defensive driving, New York Defensive Driving, and Florida traffic school courses.

Texas Seat Belt Law Changes for Safety of Drivers

Starting September 1, 2010 Texas law requires that ALL passengers inside a motor vehicle be secured by a safety belt, regardless of the age or place  in the vehicle.  Currently, the law requires that only front seat passengers (other than children that fall under the child safety seat laws) be secured in safety belts.  In the interest of safety, legislators added the new stricter laws to help decrease the numbers of people who are killed or injured in motor vehicle crashes each year for not wearing their seatbelts. 

Another seat belt related law addition is focused on children.  Starting June 1, 2010 it is violation to operate a motor vehicle with a child who is younger than 8 years old (unless the child is taller than 4 feet 9 inches) without securing them in an approved child safety seat.  This law was modified from less than 5 years old and less than 36 inches tall.  This may seem like a big change, but  again the legislators feel that it is their job to protect the children of this state from being injured in vehicle crashes, and this change will ensure that more children are safely secured.

Regardless of how you may feel about the role of government in our society, it is important to stay informed of the current laws so that you are not cited by authorities for a violation that could have been avoided.  These are just a couple of new changes for drivers.  I invite you to check out all of the new changes by visiting the Texas department of Transportation’s website. 

If you get a ticket for a seat belt violation and the court authorizes the use of a state approved seat belt course check out our course.

About Us:

Driver Training Associates, Inc. (DTA) is a defensive driving and traffic school course leader located in Sugar Land, TX.  DTA was started in 1977 as a classroom provider and now offers all of their courses in online formats as well.  The company is approved to offer Texas defensive driving, New York Defensive Driving, Florida traffic school, florida drivers license, advanced driver improvement courses.

Is defensive driving the best option for a traffic ticket in Texas?

Many people ask the question if they would be better off just paying the fine rather than taking a Texas defensive driving course (online or classroom).  My answer to that question is that in most cases it is always best to keep your driver record clean if you have the option.  So if you are not familiar with the process, in Texas when you get a traffic ticket, you will be given a court date which you must appear in person or contact the court on or before that date to either dispute the ticket or let them know if you plan to just pay the fine, take a driver safety course (a.k.a defensive driving), or take some other action.  Many people choose the defensive driving course option, but lets see why this is probably the smartest choice.  If you pay the fine, then that traffic citation will go onto your driver record.  This is not a huge deal if you only have one ticket on your record, but if you are unfortunate enough to get multiple citations in short amount of time, or you were to be involved in a crash and you have tickets on your driver record you can accumulate points that could trigger insurance premium increases or surcharges from the State.  For this reason, I always advocate taking a Texas defensive driving course if eligible to keep your driver record clean.  This way you are as far away as possible from ever experiencing this expensive premium increases or surcharges.  It is also worth mentioning that in most cases, even though you will still be required to pay a Court fee when you choose defensive driving to take care of your ticket, it is still usually less expensive than paying for the ticket. 

For many folks, it is not about the money, it is more about the time.  Since online courses are now approved in Texas, this is less of an issue since the course is available 24 hours  a day and you can log in and out at your convenience so that the course will fit into your schedule.   It is for this reason that everyone should check out a state approved Texas defensive driving online course option, such as the one offered by Driver Training Associates, Inc.

Many people think that as long as they know the basic rules of the road and how to maneuver a car, they are fully capable of driving. In Texas, defensive driving is the best way for drivers not just to get where they want to go but also to do it without putting others at risk.

Unfortunately, most accidents on the roads of Texas involve teenage drivers. It’s likely that not all the necessary information taught at driving school is enough to equip them with the skills needed to be a good driver.

Defensive driving involves more than just an overall wariness of the driver’s surroundings. With the right school, it can also teach how to anticipate accidents or oncoming disasters. It will show the proper techniques when dealing with a crash, mistakes made by other drivers or other emergencies.

If you want to learn the proper techniques and skills for driving and are looking for a Texas defensive driving institution, visit DriverTrainingAssociates.com. They have taught and trained drivers for over three decades and is the most reliable driving school in the state.

Virginia is a popular place to get traffic tickets these days. With state troopers patrolling the highways and local police agencies handing out tickets on the by-ways, your chances of receiving a ticket are fairly good if you don’t always follow the letter of the law.

So what do you do if you have been unlucky enough to get a Virginia speeding ticket, or if you made a “California stop” at that Virginia stop sign? If that happens, you can explain your situation to the judge, and you might even be given the option to go to a Virginia driver improvement clinic to avoid driver license points.

If you are given the choice of going to Virginia traffic school, you can attend your class at a local driver improvement clinic or sign up for an easy, convenient Virginia driver improvement online clinic.

The online Virginia defensive driving course has a number of advantages over the classroom version. First, this is an 8-hour class, and sitting through an 8-hour classroom session, whether straight through or broken up into smaller sessions, is no picnic.

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