Defensive Driving School

A week or two ago, I got a speeding ticket.  I am not normally a speeder, but I was nailed in a trap in a school zone.  Now, mind you, I always obey school zone speed limits - let's face it; I'm a mother with three children.  I am always concerned about the safety of other children, as well as my own.

This particular day (here comes my legitimate excuse), I was off kilter because our family was sick.  It was morning, and Carly had taken the bus to school.  However, I had gotten a call from the school nurse indicating that she needed to be picked up.  I took a different route to her school than I normally take, because I wanted to avoid a more congested route, being it was still morning rush hour.  I was at a stop light, turning left into a school zone.  I accelerated my car as the light turned green and went over the posted school zone speed limit.

Immediately there was a police officer with a radar gun pointing it at me and waving me over into the parking lot.  He showed me that I was going 33 in a 20.  I was going 33 because I was accelerating into the 35 MPH zone that was probably 10 feet away from me.  However, he obviously was there with his radar gun trying to get people breaking the law, and I was clearly breaking the law.  Texans take their school zones very seriously.

I tried to explain to the officer that I am new to the area and he wasn't buying it or didn't care.  He wrote me the ticket and suggested that I take a defensive driving course.

It turns out in Texas, you can have a ticket waived if you notify the traffic court that you plead guilty but that you're planning to take a defensive driving course.

I thought I was going to have to go to one of the local driving schools to take this course, but it turns out you can take it and get a certificate of completion online.

Right now I am in the middle of my defensive driving course.  It's pretty heavily regulated in the sense that you can't cheat.  It stops at frequent check points and validates identity questions (so someone else doesn't take the course for you), and the course is divided into six sections, with quizzes at the end of each section.

This picture shows Deuce and Dotty the Dice, and half of the crabby air freshener dude (forgot his name).  There's also a hula girl, a puppy dog, and a bobble head named Dash.  Dash is the main dude and runs most of the course.

 

 

To make the course not so mind numbing, the creators injected animated characters into the course to provide some cheesy comic relief and break up the monotony.  It's very stupid but I can understand why it was put in there.

 

 

It actually isn't an easy course.  You do need to take copious notes.  (Well, at least I do.)  The quiz questions at the end of each section aren't gimmies.  I have found myself having to go back in my notes and confirm my answers. 

 

I'm about half way through the course.  It's long and you have to take scheduled breaks.

 

It sort of feels like college/high school again.  Once I pass the course, I have to provide proof with my certificate and go through the formal process of having the ticket removed from my record.

 

 

I would have just taken the hit on my driving record and paid the fine, without the hassle of the course, but I already have a ticket on my driving record from Minnesota that showed up when I tried to get Texas insurance.  Ugh.  What a pain.

 

Just call me Danica Patrick.