Texas Traffic Violations and Fines

Texas drivers might be feeling a little confused about the fines and penalties they’ll face for traffic violations — and for good reason. When the Driver Responsibility Program (DRP) was repealed in September 2019, everything changed. Suddenly, the license points totals that left more than 1.4 million Texans with their licenses suspended didn’t matter anymore.

But where does that leave us now? If you get a ticket in Texas, surely there are other repercussions, right?

Yes. But to make matters even more complicated, Texas doesn’t have a statewide schedule of fines for traffic violations. So let’s dig deeper to help you know what to expect if you get pulled over in the Lone Star State. 

Understanding Texas traffic fines and violations

In Texas, the fines for speeding or for violations like running a red light vary depending on where you get pulled over. Basically, each municipality gets to set its own fee schedule. That means the fines you’ll need to pay for your Texas traffic violation depend totally on the location of the incident. 

We didn’t deep-dive into every municipality’s fee schedule, but we do want to give you a starting point here. So here are some of the readily available fine schedules from various Texas locations. We tried to include small towns, large cities, and counties to give you a good feel for what you can expect:

• Bertram
• Harris County
• Houston
• McLennan County
• San Antonio
• Travis County

Clearly, in Texas, the fines for speeding or for violations on the road vary. But, ultimately, they’re not cheap. Even going a few miles over the speed limit will land you with a fine of more than $100 in almost every area we just listed. 

Other penalties for traffic violations

Now, you’ve got a handle on Texas traffic violations and their fines. But what about license points? With the DRP repealed, Texas license points don’t matter too much right now. You still might want to watch your points, but not for the points themselves. 

Instead, know that every 2-3 points on your license represent a violation. And your license will get suspended if you get convicted of four or more traffic violations in a 12-month period or seven or more violations in a 24-month period. 

Beyond the potential for license suspension, a Texas traffic violation can result in a fairly sizeable increase in your car insurance premiums. In fact, left unaddressed, your ticket could mean you pay roughly $200 more each year for your coverage. 

Fortunately, there’s something you can do to get a Texas traffic violation dismissed and to keep your insurance costs under control: take a state-approved defensive driving course. 

To find out if you can get your ticket dismissed with this driving course, call the court on the back of your ticket. If they give approval, take the 6-hour course (you can do it online for just $25). Once you’re done, mail your certificate of completion and your driver record to the court. 

For more details on how to get your Texas traffic ticket dismissed, check out our guide.