Richard G.

After receiving my Welcome-to-Austin citation for turning right on red at MLK and the expressway, I procrastinated for the next 3 months before worrying about the ticket.

Within a week of the court's deadline, I searched around the web and found several defensive driving courses both online and locally. After learning that all schools are required to mail the certificate, I opted for TicketStop because it was completely web-based, total cost was $30 and the certificate was overnighted at no extra charge. Other schools charge $20 to $30 just for the certificate to be overnighted.

All driving schools are required by law to make their courses 6 hours in length and TicketStop's software requires the user to spend 6 hours minimum for completion. All screens have a timer that must be exhausted before allowing users to go on to the next page. Throughout the courses users are given 90 seconds to answer a user-specific questions such as make of car, year model of car, month registration expires, first name, last name, county of vehicle registration, etc.

Course videos do not play on an iPad which was somewhat inconvenient for me. I was forced to complete the course using my desktop computer. And, the video were dated, low resolution (for slow connections, I suppose) and only marginally entertaining. On the positive side the user is spared the obligatory blood and gore videos. However, those guilty should be forced to see the fatal results of texting while driving or alcohol-impaired driving.

Data provided seems to be at least 10 years old which is expected. Maybe the curriculum could be updated. However, most using the website probably don't care and are just trying to get a ticket dismissed by a municipal court.

I started the course on Tuesday, September 18th and finished the following night (19th) just before midnight. My certificate was waiting at my door on Friday evening which allowed me to easily meet the September 25th deadline. However, if you finish the course after 3 pm on Friday, you won't get your certificate until the following Tuesday since certificates are not mailed again until Monday.

More thorough questioning, more current data, and better videos would improve the course. However, prompt communication, intuitive interface and overnight certificates at no extra charge are definite pluses.

Overall I was pleased with the convenience and quality of the course even though I was unable to view videos on my iPad. I would recommend TicketStop to family and friends needing a defensive driving course to dismiss a traffic ticket.