Many people choose the defensive driving course option, but let’s 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 ...
You have to pay OSHA fines for noncompliance, negligence, injuries, and much more if your safety regulations just aren’t up to standards. Aside from paying OSHA, you also need to consider the cost of legal expenses and medical costs for injuries incurred on the job.
The duration of your defensive driving course also depends on your state's requirements. You can generally expect to spend anywhere from 6-8 hours in your course, with some being shorter (3 or 4 hours) and some being much longer (10 or 12 hours). Check with your court or research courses in your area for details on what you can expect.
3. I’m 19 years old and want to get my driver’s license. Do I have to take a course? Yes, Texas law requires persons 18-25 who wish to obtain a driver’s license to successfully complete a driver education course. 4. Can I take a 6-hour driving safety or a 6-hour drug and alcohol course to get my driver’s license?
| License | Eligibility | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Resident Hunting License | Texas resident | $25 |
| Senior Resident Hunting License | Texas resident 65 years and older | $7 |
The losses associated with these effects of nonsafety are absolutely detrimental because it creates a sort of snowball effect.
A well-functioning business has to keep employees safe, productive, and happy if they expect to continue healthy relationships with clients and other businesses as well as quality employees.
Attorney fees and legal expenses. Physicians, pharmacy, or therapy costs. Premiums increase. These are the things you notice upfront when you have incidents and injuries in your workplace. You have to pay OSHA fines for noncompliance, negligence, injuries, and much more if your safety regulations just aren’t up to standards. ...
When these injuries occur, not only do you have to pay upfront, but your workers’ compensation premiums will increase for your future payments.
Depending on the size of your organization and the size of your safety program, you may consider hiring a safety professional. So that’s one extra employee’s wages taken into account in the books. Along with a designated employee, you’ll need to provide materials and anything needed to implement your new safety training. This is usually paid per employee enrolled in the program, so smaller businesses don’t have to worry about covering huge costs associated with large workforces.
The indirect effects of a successful safety training program are all positive and don’t cost you all of the extra expenses. You’ll find improved morale and increased productivity, which strengthens your business as a whole, and you avoid the penalties from injuries, claims, and fines . The true cost of safety training is well below your budget if you compare it to the cost of injuries.
If you take it in person in a classroom-type setting, you may be required to complete the course in one sitting, depending on how long it runs. Online courses can typically be completed in installments at your own pace.
You can generally expect to spend anywhere from 6-8 hours in your course, with some being shorter (3 or 4 hours) and some being much longer (10 or 12 hours).
In short, a defensive driving course refreshes your driving knowledge and teaches you to drive defensively, giving you a better foundation to make safe, quick decisions while behind the wheel.
It depends on what your state allows, but many states have approved online defensive driving courses as viable alternatives to the traditional classroom course. Sometimes, it also depends on the type of violation you committed, or whether you're taking a course voluntarily to earn a discount on your insurance. Check with your court or insurance provider to see what's acceptable for your circumstances.
Most likely, yes. But in some cases, the court may reduce your fines if you agree to take a defensive driving course.
No. You can't take defensive driving courses for non-moving violations.
When a school closure prevents a student from completing his/her driver training, all tuition and fees paid become refundable. The school owner is required to issue full refunds in accordance with Texas Education Code 1001.403. In situations when a school owner fails to issue refunds TDLR will attempt to acquire the students’ records and file a claim against the school’s bond. In most cases only partial refunds can be issued
The certificate should not be provided until all course requirements have been met and the completion date on the certificate should match the date that the last of the course requirements have been met. By law and rule, validation of the student’s identity should be one of those requirements.
The classroom phase of a driver education course is at least 32 hours, and it cannot be completed in fewer than 16 days. The in-car phase consists of 7 hours of behind-the-wheel driving, 7 hours of in-car observation, and an additional 30 hours of behind-the-wheel practice, of which 10 hours must be done at night.
A person, partnership, or corporation pur chasing a licensed driver education school must obtain their own original or branch school license.
The school can withhold the completion certificate if the course has not been paid for in full. Please contact the school first to verify that the student has completed all the required classes or make-up hours. If you have reached out to the school and they will not provide you with your completion certificate, please contact driver education and safety program staff and include the name and address of the school, and the student’s first and last name.
Drivers may elect to attend a driver improvement course at a clerk’s office in the county where the citation was received, or if the officer provided an envelope when issuing the citaition drivers may use it to indicate the intent to attend a driver improvement course.
Yes. Once the affidavit is signed and recorded by the court, drivers may not choose the school option again for 12 months and all payments are forfeited.
Yes. Drivers are responsible for the cost of the driver improvement course.
Yes. Contact the traffic division of the clerk of courtin the county where the citation was received to determine the exact cost of the civil fine.
The purpose of the training course is to help the employee be more effective in his/her job duties, so it is directly related to the job, the employee is performing productive work during this time and the training course is taught during work hours.
Conversely, if the accountant takes a course in drafting employment contracts, he/she is not participating in a course that is likely to enhance his/her accounting skills and the employer would not be required to pay this employee.
Further, if the purpose of the training course is to prepare an employee for advancement by upgrading the employee to a higher level within the organization, the training is considered “not directly related to the employee’s job,” despite the fact that it incidentally improves his skill in performing his regular job functions.
Employers are often unsure if training time is considered hours worked or if this time should be unpaid. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), when employees spend time in training courses, the time is considered hours work and payment is required, unless all of the following is met:
Often, small employers will provide orientation training to new employees and mistakenly not pay them if they fail to pick up the skills they are being trained. This is not acceptable according to many state Departments of Labor who take the informal position that training at the outset of employment must be paid.
If I'm doing training and the course is instituted to prepare me for advancement role to management shout I will be given hours at work to complete the course as currently, I'm doing a lot of the course in my own time.
Training is directly related to the employee’s job if it is designed to make the employee handle his job more effectively as distinguished from training him for another job, or to a new or additional skill. For example, a stenographer who is given a course in stenography is engaged in an activity to make her a better stenographer.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide legal advice over comments. An employment lawyer or HR would be somewhere to start for finding the answer to that question.
Where a training course is instituted for the bona fide purpose of preparing for advancement through upgrading the employee to a higher skill, and is not intended to make the employee more efficient in his present job, the training is not considered directly related to the employee’s job even though the course incidentally improves his skill in doing his regular work.
Thus, the time she spends voluntarily in taking such a bookkeeping course, outside of regular working hours, need not be counted as working time.
In short, training is directly related to an employee’s job if it is designed to make her more effective in her position or to teach her something new she needs to know to perform her current job duties.
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) classifies training as “voluntary” if (1) the employer does not require the employee to attend the training; and (2) the employee is not led to believe that her employment would be adversely affected if she does not attend the training.
Consequently, as long as the training offered by the employer corresponds to the requirements outlined by the state licensing division, an employee’s attendance at the employer-sponsored program would not be compensable.
Virtually all employers are aware that, pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), they are required to compensate employees for all hours worked.
For example, a furniture distributor may offer non-mandatory training sessions to its delivery drivers so that they can obtain their required commercial driver’s license. Although the training would arguably make an employee more effective in her position as a driver, the program is of general applicability and corresponds to courses offered by other entities in accordance with the requirements of the state licensing division. Moreover, while the employee’s receipt of the license is mandatory, the employer’s training program is non-mandatory, as it is simply one means of achieving the required documentation.
Conversely, training is not directly related to an employee’s job when its primary focus is to prepare an employee for advancement or train her for another position, even if it results in incidental improvement to an employee’s ability to perform her regular duties. Furthermore, training is not considered to be directly related to an employee’s job when an employer’s non-mandatory training program is of general applicability and corresponds to courses offered by independent, bona fide institutions of learning.
The short answer to this question is that an employee’s time spent in training sessions should be considered compensable “working time” unless the following four factors are met: Attendance is outside of the employee’s regular working hours; Attendance is voluntary; The training is not directly related to the employee’s job ; and.
You can take a Texas defensive driving course if you meet the following conditions: 1 You have not taken a defensive driving course within the past 12 months. 2 Do not have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) 3 Are not currently taking a defensive driving course for a different violation.
Safety-USA’s online Texas defensive driving course has been approved by TDLR for ticket dismissal and insurance discount purposes. This course will satisfy your court requirements that are a result of a traffic ticket. At only $25, this low-cost program is available in English and Spanish.