Viewpoint: Nevermind Speeding, Try To Avoid Defensive Driving

I don?t know what’s worse: getting a traffic ticket or trying to dispose of one.

I?ve been driving the same route to work for 18 years. It?s a steep descent down Pino Real, and the three- and four-way stop signs placed at lightly traveled side streets slows everyone down.

Still, for the first time in memory, one of our men in blue pulled out his radar to help pay his salary.He clocked me going 42 in a 30.

Starting in neutral from a complete stop at the first stop sign to the second stop sign, my car goes from zero to 36 mph. In other words, you?ve got to ride your brakes pretty hard to stay under the legal speed limit.

I could not tell you the last time I received a traffic ticket in Texas.

My first thought: defensive driving. Why not? It keeps the ticket off your driving record. I was to learn that the defensive driving requirements have changed since I last took a course. I thought about one of those comedy courses but then I received a small postcard in the mail. Aha! We are in the Internet age. I can take this course online from the comfort of my home.

It?s not as simple as I had hoped. I called the municipal court and learned that my court costs ($107.10) would be the same whether I take defensive driving or not. The state now requires that the defensive driving student send $10 to the DPS to receive a copy of your driving record. I suppose that is to establish that you are eligible for the course.

The municipal court returned a slew of paperwork including the ?Plea Declaration.? I pleaded “no contest” rather than “guilty.” After all, who ever admits to speeding? Now, when I sign the statement I have to get a notary public to validate it?s me.

While waiting for the records from Austin, I signed up for a $25 course at TexasDriveSafe.com. I thought this would be a lot easier than spending six hours on a Saturday or three hours over two weeknights attending a course. Wrong! The online course requires six hours as well. You can spread it out.

While it?s nice to take it at home, you can?t doze through the exercise. There are fewer videos than I would have expected. You genuinely have to concentrate on the reading material because you get quizzed throughout.

You often have to verify your identity, too. I have to admit I learned some interesting facts, such as, you are 32 times more likely to be killed on a motorcycle than in a car. I had forgotten you can put up a $55,000 cash or security deposit with the state comptroller or county judge to avoid car insurance. Who does that?

When it came time for the final exam, I gave it my best shot and only scored a ?75? ? good enough to pass without flying colors.

The moral of this story is don?t speed and whatever you do, don?t take defensive driving online.

This article first appeared in El Paso Inc.