One of the most common questions we get asked is:

“What’s the difference between a defensive driving class
and a driving safety course?”

And people have a good reason for asking.

They have a speeding ticket. The court told them that they can get that ticket dismissed by taking a “driving safety course.” But looking online, all they can find are defensive driving classes.

But there’s nothing to worry about.

The simple fact is that a “driving safety course” and a “defensive driving course” are the same thing. Most people call it “defensive driving” except for judges and attorneys who call it “driving safety.”

Honestly, it’s like lawyers need a different name for everything!

Texas has state agencies that regulate driving safety schools like Comedy Guys. And they are pushing for us to use “driving safety” instead of “defensive driving.”

This change began when we were governed by the Texas Education Agency. And it continues under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR to its friends).

Regardless of what you call it, if you’re looking to meet a court’s requirements to get a ticket dismissed, they’re the same thing. And we can definitely help you get your ticket dismissed in any Texas court.

Looking beyond just ticket dismissal

Actually, there is a more subtle difference if you’re interested in something more fundamental than satisfying a court.

In a larger sense, “driving safety” is the entire idea of being safe while driving It is all the attitudes and knowledge and skills that make any one driver safer when they’re behind the wheel.

If you look at it this way then, “defensive driving” — the strategies and techniques wise drivers use to stay out of dangerous situations when they can and deal with them when they must — is just one aspect of this bigger picture.

(Of course, most people just want to make the court happy and get their ticket dismissed.  I included all that “bigger picture” stuff to make the pedantic jerk in our office happy.)

Being State-approved is a bigger concern

You don’t need to worry if your defensive driving course will satisfy the court.

It will, but only if the defensive driving course you take  is from a state-approved school.

If you take a course from a school that is not approved by the state’s TDLR, then the certificate you receive will not be accepted by the court.

This is why Comedy Guys Defensive Driving School works to maintain it’s state-approved status. Every year we give our driving safety instructors additional training. And we renew our license (license number C728, if you’re curious) with the Texas agency that oversees such things.

Moreover, our course provider (the company that publishes and updates our curriculum) also has a state-license that gets renewed once a year.

All this to stay current and to make sure that our driving safety certificates will work to get your ticket dismissed.

Whether you take one of our live defensive driving classes or our online driving safety course, a certificate from Comedy Guys Defensive Driving will satisfy the court’s requirements.