Texas House Bill 1190

Currently there is a House bill in Texas that will affect all defensive driving courses in Texas .

The bill is the following:

By: Flynn

H.B. No. 1190

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to statutory minimum fees for driving safety courses.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 1001.205, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 1001.205.  REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVING SAFETY SCHOOL
	LICENSE. The commissioner shall approve an application for a
	driving safety school license if on investigation the agency
	determines that the school:
	(1)  has driving safety courses, curricula, and
	instruction of a quality, content, and length that reasonably and
	adequately achieve the stated objective for which the course,
	curricula, and instruction are developed by the course provider;
	(2)  has adequate space, equipment, instructional
	material, and instructors to provide training of good quality;
	(3)  has instructors and administrators who have
	adequate educational qualifications and experience;
	(4)  maintains adequate records as prescribed by the
	commissioner to show attendance and progress or grades and enforces
	satisfactory standards relating to attendance, progress, and
	conduct;
	(5)  complies with all county, municipal, state, and
	federal laws, including fire, building, and sanitation codes and
	assumed name registration;
	(6)  has administrators, owners, and instructors who
	are of good reputation and character;
	(7)  does not use erroneous or misleading advertising,
	either by actual statement, omission, or intimation, as determined
	by the commissioner;
	(8)  does not use a name similar to the name of another
	existing school or tax-supported educational establishment in this
	state, unless specifically approved in writing by the commissioner;
	(9)  maintains and uses the approved contract and
	policies developed by the course provider;
	(10)  does not owe an administrative penalty under this
	chapter;
	[(11)   will not provide a driving safety course to a
	person for less than $25;] and
	(11) [(12)]  meets additional criteria required by the
	commissioner.
	SECTION 2.  Section 1001.352, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 1001.352.  FEES FOR DRIVING SAFETY COURSE. A course
	provider shall charge each student[:
	[(1) at least $25 for a driving safety course; and
	[(2)] a fee of at least $3 for driving safety course
	materials and for supervising and administering the course.
	SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act to Section
	1001.205, Education Code, applies only to an application for a
	driving safety school license submitted on or after the effective
	date of this Act. An application for a driving safety school
	license submitted before the effective date of this Act is governed
	by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
	Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 4.  The change in law made by this Act to Section
	1001.352, Education Code, applies only to a driving safety course
	provided on or after the effective date of this Act. A course
	provided before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
	law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.

We are petitioning to prevent the passing of Texas House Bill 1190.

In summary, five reasons to be opposed to HB 1190, although there are many, many more:
1. Reduces the opportunity for small businesses in the driving safety field to startup and compete on a level playing field with larger multistate operations.
2. Could create similar deceptive advertising techniques that other states have resorted to similar to Florida and California.
3. Will eventually result in a loss of jobs within the industry with lower skilled workforce of instructors due to lower pay.
4. Closing of currently operating small businesses in the driving safety field due to the inability to be price competitive with online courses with call centers in other states and abroad.
5. Reduced profitability in the industry as a whole therefore reducing the taxes collected hurting State and Federal Governments.
Small businesses within the driver safety and driver education industry in Texas, along with the families they are composed of, will hurt tremendously if the bill is passed.

Texas Defensive Driving

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

Google Does Not Want You To Drive

Getting you to take your eyes off the road could be worth billions in new search revenue to Google.

Google has never said exactly how it will make money off the self-driving vehicles it has been developing. Will it manufacture cars? Try to become the operating system for our highways?

The patent, titled “User interface for displaying internal state of autonomous driving system,” covers the idea of a vehicle dashboard that uses lights to cue a driver when it’s safe to relinquish control of their vehicle to a computer.

The patent includes an extremely telling schematic (shown below) of a driver behind the wheel of a self-driving car. Because what will people do when the car is driving? Obviously, they’re going to play with their iPhones.

While Google has never said how it plans to commercialize automated vehicles, it’s clear that keeping people’s eyes on the Web instead of on the road could itself mean a substantial boost to the company’s revenues.

Baloney, you say. Well, getting people to use Google services instead of doing something else is already a key strategy of Google’s. That is one reason the company can afford to maintain its free Android operating system for smartphones. All those phones mean more people on the Internet, searching via Google, and clicking on ads.

So just how much could Google earn by making sure drivers are not distracted from the Internet?

Based on U.S. Census Data there are 250 million adults in the U.S., of which 119 million work. Of those, 76 percent drive to work alone spending about 25 minutes to get there. Round trip, call it an hour. Times 260 workdays per year. That comes to about 23,514,400,000 extra person-hours a year to play with phones out of about 1,460,000,000,000 hours American adults spend awake each year. Or about 1.6% more free time overall.

Given Google’s revenue of $46 billion a year (and assuming the rest of the world behaves like Americans) the calculation suggests that by freeing up commuters to surf the Internet driverless cars are worth an additional $736 million in search revenue to Google.

Oh, and let’s not forget the point of this patent: Google’s car will tell you when it’s safe to start searching.

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

Invisible Steering Wheel

     Astoundingly, the new cutting-edge technology for automobile safety happens to abandon the need for a steering wheel. Japanese automaker, Nissan, created new features that are designed to prevent collisions as opposed to typical safety features that accommodate safety during a collision. With this new technology in hand, Nissan executives plan to eliminate deaths and severe injuries involving Nissan vehicles by the year 2015. Taking a defensive driving course, online, with comedy can also help eliminate the risk accident and injury on the roadway.

     The ‘camera and processing module’, mounted on the rear-view mirror, detects the condition and direction of the roadway ahead then communicates the data to the ‘steering angle actuator’ resulting in the superlative driving performance. The vehicle nearly drives itself.

     The “autonomous emergency steering” feature intends to maneuver the vehicle to the left or right in order to avoid an accident when the breaks are not capable to stop the vehicle in time. The technology is also able to accurately detect and avoid unexpected debris and/or pedestrians.  

     When parking, Nissan also added a feature to distinguish if the driver mistakenly presses the accelerator instead of the brake.

     Nissan said that the ‘digital drive’ car will be the first of its kind to be produced commercially, and they plan to initially install the technology in the 2014 Infiniti G37S model.

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

Are You Eligible to Take Defensive Driving?

Are you able to dismiss your ticket by taking a Defensive Driving Course?

                To be sure, you will need to contact the court that you have received a ticket with, and inquire if you are eligible to dismiss the ticket with a Defensive Driving Course. Depending on the court, you may be able to request permission by phone, mail, or in person. Please be mindful that every court in Texas has their own specific procedures that are different from others.

                Once the court has given you permission to dismiss your ticket, they usually give you 90 days to take a Defensive Driving Course. Comedy Driving Inc. offers a $25 defensive driving course, online, 24 hours a day, with 24 hour customer service. Comedy Driving Inc. is also approved by the Texas Education Agency and Region XIII Education Service Center, so their course is accepted by every court in Texas. To begin the course, go to ComedyDriving.com and click “Sign Up”. Then, you will create a username and password, so that you may log in and out of the course, and complete it at any pace you wish. Once you have completed the course, Comedy Driving will mail your certificate of completion to you, First Class Mail, the same or next business day. If you need your certificate sooner, Comedy Driving has several delivery options, so your certificate of completion can be shipped to you overnight.

                After you have received the certificate of completion, it is your obligation to sign the “court copy” and turn it in to the court, abiding by their requests. An “insurance copy” will always be mailed with the “court copy”, sign it and turn it in to your insurance company to possibly receive a discount on your current rates, or contact Iron Property Insurance for a better rate.

If you have any questions, contact Comedy Driving Inc. – customer service – at 713-465-0042.

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

Southeast Houston Defensive Driving

To become better and safer drivers, residents and workers that reside in the Southeast Houston area can take a defensive driving course provided by Comedy Driving, Inc., by visiting our defensive driving classroom in Southeast Houston located on the intersection of I-45 and FM 518. It’s the simple and fun solution for Defensive Driving in Southeast Houston! There’s no need to register for our defensive driving course, all you need to do is show up on time and you are in the class!
The classroom schedule is as follows:

Day of the Week Start Time End Time
Sunday 09:00 AM 03:00 PM
Wednesday 04:00 PM 10:00 PM
Friday 09:00 AM 03:00 PM
Saturday 09:00 AM 03:00 PM

Our Southeast Houston defensive driving classroom is located on the southwest corner of 518 and I-45. If heading south on 1-45 exit FM 518 (exit 23) turn right on 518 and we will be on the Southwest Corner of 518 and the I-45 feeder road. There is a Pawn Shop, Eagle Dancer, Window Shop and Pool Place in the same shopping center. If on 1-45 heading North exit FM 518 (exit 23) turn left under the freeway and turn into the red and white shopping center on your left

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, our staff is more than happy to hear them. Just give us a call at (713) 465-0042 or email us at comedydriving@comedydriving.com.

Southeast Houston Defensive Driving

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

Underage Drinking and Driving

If you’re a minor, meaning you're under 21 years of age, and found to be in possession of alcohol, you may face up to a $500 fine, 30–180 days of your driver's license being suspended, eight to 40 hours of community service, and mandatory alcohol-awareness classes. A minor in possession begets major punishment.
Any amount of beer, wine or liquor found in the system of or possessed by a minor can trigger these penalties. This is known as the Zero Tolerance law in Texas. A second or third offense can lead to suspension of your driver license for 60 to 180 days. If you’re 17 or older, you also can be fined as much as $2,000 and go to jail for up to 180 days for a third offense. Time to ditch that lucky beer bottle cap from your key chain!
If you're a parent then be a good example for your children: don’t drink and drive. Remind your children to call you if they’re ever in an uncomfortable situation. Teach them never to get in a car with someone who’s been drinking. Also, teach the people who they're getting into cars with to not drink while they drive.
Furnishing alcohol to someone under 21 can lead to a $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail. Selling alcohol to a minor is a Class A misdemeanor, which can bring a $4,000 fine and land the seller a year in jail.

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

Faces of Distracted Driving

I ran into this website: www.distraction.gov,
which is dedicated to the awareness of distracted drivers.

•In 2009, there were 30,797 fatal crashes in the United States, which involved 45,230 drivers. In those crashes 33,808 people died.
•In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction (16% of total fatalities).
•The proportion of fatalities reportedly associated with driver distraction increased from 10 percent in 2005 to 16 percent in 2009. During that time, fatal crashes with reported driver distraction also increased from 10 percent to 16 percent.
•The portion of drivers reportedly distracted at the time of the fatal crashes increased from 7 percent in 2005 to 11 percent in 2009.
•The under-20 age group had the highest proportion of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes (16%). The age group with the next greatest proportion of distracted drivers was the 20- to-29-year-old age group – 13 percent of all 20-to-29-year-old drivers in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted.
•Of those drivers reportedly distracted during a fatal crash, the 30-to-39-year-old drivers were the group with the greatest proportion distracted by cell phones. Cell phone distraction was reported for 24 percent of the 30-to-39-year-old distracted drivers in fatal crashes.
•Light-truck drivers and motorcyclists had the greatest percentage of total drivers reported as distracted at the time of the fatal crash (12% each). Bus drivers had the lowest percentage (6%) of total drivers involved in fatal crashes that were reported as distraction-related.
•An estimated 20 percent of 1,517,000 injury crashes were reported to have involved distracted driving in 2009.

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

Web-Based Driving Safety Courses in Texas

The most convenient and cheapest option for driver safety courses in Texas are those that are web-based. While it may lack the entertainment value that comedic classroom-based driving safety courses provide, it's better for some Texans to sit in the comfort of their own living room or office and listen to as well as watch a driving safety course on their computer screen than attend a live class with a licensed driving instructor who may or may not be versed in comedic performance as well. For those Texans, there are an abundance of options available of which don't really vary in price or convenience, but often vary in experience. Without doing some research, a person really can't know which option is going to offer the best experience for him or her.

The price of web-based driving safety courses across Texas vary little from provider to provider. By running a Google search using, “web-based driving safety course in Texas” as your search terms, you'll notice that every driving safety course provider that turns up in the results offers their web-based driving safety course for twenty-five dollars. By state law, the lowest price any driving safety course provider can offer for a driving safety course, whether web-based or classroom-based, is twenty-five dollars. For classroom-based driving safety courses, schools generally charge anywhere from $29 such as at Comedy Driving, Inc., to as much as $59 at other driving safety course providers. Some driving safety course providers distribute coupons for a discount on their classroom-based driving safety courses which may decrease the price to $25 such as it does at Comedy Driving, Inc., classroom-based driving safety courses, but not every driving safety course provider distributes such a coupon and those that do may not decrease the price the $25 that is required as the minimum by Texas law. You'll only find driving safety courses that start at $25 without any sort of coupon or discount by taking a web-based driving safety course.

The distance from the course provider to the address where you'd like to have your Certificate of Completion mailed probably won't be a huge factor in your decision of what web-based driving safety course provider to use. While most driving safety course providers state to allow one to seven days for delivery of your Certificate of Completion, you'll most likely receive it much sooner than seven days. If close by, two to three days is more likely albeit never guaranteed. Taking a web-based driving safety course from a driving safety course provider that is located on the opposite side of Texas from where you're located could potentially take significantly longer than a driving safety course provider that is within no more than a few hours driving distance from your location.

Most web-based driving safety courses are designed to fit your schedule so that they're as convenient as possible. Since you're given unique login identification and a password, you're able to login at anytime, day or night, and you can logout to take breaks anytime. When you logout during the web-based driving safety course, your progress is saved so you can step away for hours or even days at a time and finish it later when you some free time or just want something to use to kill some time at work. When choosing a web-based driving safety course, you can choose between completely serious or funny at every opportunity available. Just as some driving safety course providers have their classroom-based courses taught by comedians, they also provide a web-based driving safety course that has contributions from actual comedians to make the web-based driving safety course as funny as possible.

Once you complete a web-based driving safety course which includes a test you must pass at the end of the course, a Certificate of Completion will be mailed to you with has your information that your provided printed on it so that it's ready for you to take to the court where your ticket is being handled. If you only took the web-based driving safety course for insurance purposes then you'll receive a copy of the Certificate of Completion specifically for your insurance company.

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

Defensive Driving Comedy Class Online in Texas, How to take a easy comedy Tx defensive driving class online, Comedy Driving Safety Class Online in Texas, Simple Funny Traffic School Online in Texas. Comedy Driving offers simple, fun online defensive driving and online driving safety classes in Texas online and in the classrooms. http://www.comedydriving.com, http://www.comedyoffensivedriving.com, http://www.comedydrivingsafetycourse.com

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

Construction Zones

Each year in Texas, there are approximately 15,000 crashes and more than 100 people killed in highway construction and maintenance zones. The two leading causes of work zone crashes are excessive speed and the failure to remain alert while driving. As a result, one in three work zone crashes is a rear-end collision. In 2009, there were 3,871 distracted driving crashes in Texas work zones, involving 7,837 vehicles. These distracted driver crashes resulted in 27 fatalities. Don't mistake the orange barrels for slalom poles. They're not meant for you to weave in and out of them. They're meant to separate you and the workers from danger.
At any one time, there can be more than 1,000 Texas highway work zones in operation. With so much construction, motorists frequently encounter work zones. Please keep the following tips in mind when driving through work zones:
 Slow down and always follow posted work zone speed limits. Speeding is one of the major causes of work zone crashes. Remember, traffic fines double in work zones.
 Pay attention. Workers and heavy equipment may only be a few feet from passing vehicles.
 Be patient. Delays from highway construction can be frustrating, but it only takes a few extra minutes to slow down for a work zone.
 Plan ahead. Leave a few minutes early when traveling through a work zone in order to reach your destination on time.

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

ACCIDENTS INVOLVING PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH

The operator of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of a person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close to the scene as possible, immediately return to the scene of the accident if the vehicle is not stopped at the scene of the accident and remain at the scene of the accident until the operator complies with the requirements of rendering aid as stated by the Texas Transportation Code. It's called a “scene” because some people like to act like they're injured and you really should get back there as quickly as possible so they don't have a chance to make up a story for their one-man play.
An operator of a vehicle required to stop the vehicle must do so without obstructing traffic more than is necessary. If it can be moved by your own means then you should move it. Otherwise, unless you happen to have Superman in your back pocket to move your upside-down vehicle to the side of the road, you should just get yourself out of the way of traffic as quickly as possible.
A person commits an offense if the person does not stop or otherwise comply with the laws for rendering aid and accidents involving personal injury or death. Such an offense is punishable by imprisonment in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for not more than five years or confinement in the county jail for not more than one year, a fine not to exceed $5,000 or both the fine and the imprisonment or confinement. Stick around at the scene of the accident and help out where you can so you can use that time and money to get your clunker fixed.

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook

A Funny Texas Defensive Driving Course Thats No Joke

If you are ever required to take a certified 6-hour defensive driving course there is no reason you can't have fun while doing it!
ComedyDriving.com is an online course brought to you by professional comedians with years of entertainment experience. This course was designed from the ground up to be both educational and enjoyable.
And of course it is 100 % STATE APPROVED!
Our course allows you to take your required defensive driving class online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Comedy Driving.com is an online Texas defensive driving course that you can take to have your traffic ticket dismissed. In addition, you may be able to get your insurance rates reduced by up to 10% by taking our online defensive driving course. Please contact your insurance agent for more details to that regard.

Comedy Driving Inc has 5 Houston Locations as well as our online defensive driving course!

Humble | Katy Freeway | League City | Sugar Land | Willowbrook