Professional Documents
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Course Overview
Welcome to the I DRIVE SAFELY Online Traffic School
Course. Your decision, willingness and effort to participate in
this course gives you an opportunity to learn to drive more
alertly, efficiently, and safely. I DRIVE SAFELY has
combined years of industry experience as well as professional
outside sources to design and implement this driver education
program. The aim of this course is to help you become a
better, safer driver. We hope you share what you will learn
with family and friends.
This driver improvement program is also designed to promote
respect for all drivers as well as encourage observance of
traffic laws and traffic safety responsibilities. The course
includes information that will assist you in improving your
personal driving habits and defensive driving techniques. It
also fosters the reduction of traffic violations, traffic-related
injuries, deaths, and economic losses. By participating in this course, no points will be assessed
for the traffic violation for which you are attending Texas state traffic school.
The program consists of the following eight units of instruction:
Introduction
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Testing and Grading
At the end of each unit, you are required to take a 10question quiz that reviews important content from that
unit. You must pass each quiz with a score of 70% to
move on to the next unit. If you do not score 70% or
higher you are required to retake the entire unit and
attempt another quiz after you have finished the unit.
Completion Requirements
You must complete all 8 units of the course and pass the
quiz at the end of each unit with a score of 70% or higher
in order to receive a Certificate of Completion. Each
individual unit must be completed before moving on to
the next unit. I DRIVE SAFELY will issue a Certificate of Completion only if participants
meet all the requirements for the course.
Timer
In this course, each page contains timers as required by the state government to
ensure that you spend the same amount of time on this course as you would in a
classroom course. You will not be able to move forward in the course until the page
timer has stopped. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Introduction
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Operation and Conduct Policy
No credit for completion will be given if the course is
completed by anyone other than you or if you are assisted by
an outside party. When you enroll in the course you are
stating under penalty of perjury that you, and not another
person, studied the material in its entirety and completed the
section quizzes and the final exam. By registering for this
course, you understand that it may be a crime to make false
statements or to falsify documents submitted to the court.
Cancellation/Refund Policy
School enrollment fees will be refunded within 30 days to any student who cancels the
enrollment contract prior to completing the course. All school enrollment fees are also
refundable if:
The course of instruction is discontinued by the school, thus preventing a student from
completing the course, or
The enrollment of the student was procured as a result of any misrepresentation in
advertising, promotional materials of the school, or representation made by the owner or
employee of the school.
All refunds must be requested within 30 days after the effective date of payment.
Note: There will be no refund of school enrollment fees if a student fails to pass the final
examination, or if the student fails to pass the course due to circumvention.
You're now ready to begin the course. Good luck!
The Traffic Safety Problem
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Introduction
Vehicular crashes in the United States kill and injure people at
epidemic rates.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists
accidental death as the fifth leading cause of death in the
United States.
Fatalities related to motor vehicle traffic are the number one
cause of accidental death. Motor vehicle collisions are the
leading cause of death for people ages 3 to 33.
When you enter into the driving environment, your risk of
unintentional injury is always present. However, there are
several things you can do
as a driver to lower that
risk.
As you start this course, you probably consider yourself to be
a very good driver. Then recently, and very unexpectedly, you
were issued a citation by a law enforcement official.
Many good drivers receive citations and are also involved in
crashes. In fact, the majority of drivers involved in collisions
are people who have a good driving record. People who drive
safely most of the time can still exercise poor judgment and make a mistake once in a while.
However, if you consistently break traffic laws, you are more likely to be involved in a crash
than drivers who obey the laws.
The purpose of this course is to help you avoid receiving future citations and provide you with
information to help you reduce your risk of a crash; a crash which could result in financial loss,
injury, or death.
We begin this course by investigating what causes fatalities on our highway system, the
responsibilities we all have as drivers, and how to reduce your risk of being involved in a crash
while you are driving.
The first module of the course covers the traffic safety problem we all face as a society. Topics
include:
Learned Information
Realistic Perceptions
Sound Judgments
You already know how to drive. Using skill, knowledge, and obeying the rules of the road is the
first step to improving your chances of surviving a crash.
Next, you need to stay focused on the task of driving and have
a realistic perception of your risk and an understanding of
why you need to be focused on the task of driving. You need
to be aware of the environment you are driving in and the
changes other drivers are making in their speed and direction.
Lastly, when you know what to do and are alert to the
situation, you need to exercise sound judgment.
There are several techniques to help you detect and avoid
hazardous situations while driving. These techniques will be presented in depth to help develop
your driving survival capabilities.
The Traffic Safety Problem
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The Highway Transportation System
The Highway Transportation System (HTS) is a complex, integrated system made up of three
elements:
Roadways
Vehicles
Drivers
Roadways
Vehicles
confident that your vehicle is safe, all systems are fully operational and in good condition.
Drivers
There are many attentive, good drivers on the road with us. However, never let your guard down
to the fact that sick, tired, angry, distracted, and impaired drivers can also be sharing the
roadway. If you, as a driver, are not in good condition, take that into consideration before getting
behind the wheel.
The HTS is designed to move and manage all of these different vehicles and drivers around the
roadways. Traffic engineers and lawmakers have designed the roads, laws, and traffic controls to
help drivers anticipate and predict what other road users are about to do. These efforts are in our
best interest and reduce the chances of our crashing into each other. In our integrated
transportation system all drivers have to depend on each other to follow the rules.
The Traffic Safety Problem
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The Cost of Crashes
Motor vehicles play an extremely important role in our lives and our economy. Without them,
most of us could not get to work, go to the grocery store, or travel outside of our own
community. However, it is imperative that we understand the potential losses associated with
motor vehicle collisions and unsafe driving practices.
Injury and death associated with traffic-related crashes are two of our largest societal problems.
Consider the following personal and societal losses resulting from traffic collisions compiled
from data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA):
In addition to the fatality rates, there are over 5.5 million traffic collisions that are
reported each year. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, these
collisions cost the national economy over $70 billion as they relate to crash-related deaths
and injuries among drivers and passengers. In addition, the cost of personal or family
disruptions as well as mental and physical suffering can't possibly be measured in dollars.
properly timed actions under varying road and traffic conditions based on decisions that depend
on:
Learned Information
Realistic Perceptions
Sound Judgments
Driving is a Privilege
Licensing Requirements
License Revocation and Suspension
Financial Responsibility
Other State Laws
Do not drive in excess of the speed limit or slower than the minimum speed limit. If you
have poor traction or poor visibility, slow down to maintain control and be able to stop if
a hazard is in your path.
Slowing down or rolling through a STOP sign is not enough and is against the law.
Stop before your vehicle enters the crosswalk. If there is no crosswalk present, stop your
vehicle just before your front tires reach the bold stop bar marking on the pavement. If
there is no stop bar, drivers should stop at the point nearest the intersecting roadway
where they have a view of approaching traffic before entering the intersection.
Position your vehicle in the center of your traffic lane. Signal your intention to change
lanes or turn.
To yield the rightofway means to allow another road user to cross or use an
intersection or roadway before you do. At an uncontrolled intersection, if another vehicle
is in the lane you want to enter, they have the rightofway. This is true when backing
out of a driveway or when you exit a parking space in a parking lot. Be prepared to slow
down or stop if necessary to give the rightofway to vehicles on the roadway. Proceed
when safe to do so.
A steady yellow signal light ahead warns you that your permission to proceed is about to
be terminated. Begin to slow and be prepared to stop. A red light will soon appear
indicating it is illegal for vehicle traffic going in your direction to enter the intersection.
A flashing yellow light means slow down and proceed with caution. Be prepared to yield
to another vehicle or pedestrian if they are already in the intersection.
Besides obeying basic traffic laws, drivers have countless
other responsibilities:
course. As of March 1, 2010, Texas law also mandates that applicants ages 25 or younger must
commit to a Texas-approved driver education course. A school district may also offer driver
education and a traffic safety course each school year. The commissioner shall approve or put
together the curriculum and course materials (whether the driver education is conducted by a
school district, a specialized driver education school, or parent). Each course must contain:
Seven hours of behind-the-wheel instruction in the presence of a person who meets the
Transportation Code Section 521.05 requirements to teach driver education.
Seven hours of observation instruction in the presence of a person who meets the
Transportation Code Section 521.05 requirements to teach driver education.
20 hours of additional behind-the-wheel instruction (10 hours at night) in the presence of
a person who meets the Transportation Code Section 521.222 (d) (2) requirements to
teach driver education.
If you are under 18, you must hold an instruction permit or hardship license for a minimum of
six months. Be aware that your provisional license will expire on your 18th birthdaywhich
means that you will not have to annually renew your instructional permit or provisional license.
You will have to pay a $15 issuance fee for your provisional license or instruction permit. Also,
your instructor must be 21 years or older, must not be disabled due to mental illness, must not
have six or more points on their driving record, and must have possessed a driver license for the
past three years without any suspensions or revocations.As of May 1, 2010, Texas law now
requires an additional 20 hours of behind-the-wheel of driver instruction-based on the TEA's
(Texas Education Agency) criteria for curriculum (HB 339). As of November 30, 2009, the
Texas Department of Public Safety also provides a special task force that will review and
provide recommendations to the TEA for driver course material.
The Texas Department of Public Safety also collects data regarding the amount of collisions
involved with students who were taught at public schools. The number of collisions is further
determined by the number of an instructor's students who have completed their driver education
course during the state's fiscal year, then dividing that number by the number of collisions
involved with students who are in their first 12 months of licensure, and expressing the quotient
as the final percentage. By October 1 of each year a publication is issued that lists the student's
collision percentages and severity levels taught by each legally approved instructor.
There is no minimum time that you must hold a restricted motorcycle or moped license before
you can apply for a Class M license. A person under 17 who holds a restricted motorcycle or
moped license during a 12-month period may not ride between midnight and 5 a.m., unless
absolutely necessary and may not use a wireless communication device while the motorcycle or
moped is in motion. These rules do not apply to those who hold a hardship license. Also, those
who are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission may operate a wireless or radio
frequency device.
Your instruction permit must remain valid during the mandatory 6-month period. If your
instruction permit is suspended during this period, the remainder of the 6-month period must be
completed once the suspension has ended.
Once you have held a permit or hardship license for six months, you will be eligible to
"graduate" to Phase Two and receive a Class C driver license, if you:
If you are 15 years of age you may qualify for a hardship license (for more information regarding
the hardship license, please contact the department). Phase Two lasts for one year. During this
one-year period, you will have to comply with specific rules, such as carrying only one
passenger who is under 21 years old in your vehicle and never driving between the hours of
midnight and 5 a.m., unless absolutely necessary. After this 1-year period, your license status is
upgraded to be non-provisional.
Texas law requires that all applicants under the age of 18 take the driving skills exam to receive a
driver license. Those who are under 18 years of age may not waive their driving test under any
circumstances.
You must successfully complete the driver license requirements. It is considered a criminal
offense to steal anyone's driver license, commercial driver license, or personal identification (HB
1282).
Organ Donation
Know and follow the laws that govern the use of our roadways. If you choose not to demonstrate
safe driving competence, your driver's license may be suspended or revoked.
The Point System identifies those who may be habitually negligent drivers. The Driver
Responsibility Law (TRC 708; Article 10, House Bill 3588, 78th Legislative Session)
establishes a system which assigns points to moving violations classified as Class C
misdemeanors and applies surcharges to offenders, based upon the type of offense and the time
period in which the citation was received. For each conviction, DPS will assign points to a
person's driver license as follows:
If you receive 6 points or more on your record within 3 years, you must pay a surcharge. It is
$100 for the first 6 points and $25 for each additional point. These surcharges do not replace
other consequences of the violation.
If you receive a conviction for any of the following offenses, you are required to pay an annual
surcharge for 3 years from the date of conviction:
Once your revocation period has ended, your driving privileges will remain revoked until an
investigation is completed. The investigation is to determine that all withdrawal actions have
ended, and that all statutory requirements are met. You will be required to pay the appropriate
application fee and reinstatement fee, and you may be required to file a Certificate of Insurance.
A written, vision and road test may also be required.
Your license may be suspended or revoked for a variety of reasons. Read below for a list of just a
few of them: