by
John Fabel | Last Updated: September 20, 2022 With nearly 240,000 residents potentially on the road at any given time, driving in Garland can be challenging. This situation certainly isn’t helped by Garland’s location, situated just to the east of Dallas, a city of over 1.3 million. In Texas’s thirteenth-largest city, driving can sometimes get as spicy as the salsa at Gloria’s.
Garland can be a dangerous place to drive, both physically and fiscally. Garland averages over 2,500 collisions per year, with nearly a third resulting in injuries or fatalities.
Since most accidents are caused by a failure to control speed, law enforcement does its best to slow this trend by writing tickets. In the US, 100,000 speeding tickets are written every day, and, no doubt, Garland drivers get their fair share. At an average cost of $150 a ticket, the nation’s speeders pay out nearly $5.5 billion dollars in fines, and each of them faces a 22-25% increase in their car insurance premiums for the next three years.
All of these costs could be drastically reduced with better driving by all. Garland drivers can bring these numbers down by taking defensive driving (also known in Texas as a “driver safety course”). Tips and reminders of how to navigate the roads safely are the main topics of any driving course. The stated purpose of a TDLR-approved course is to teach drivers to “change their perceptions, attitudes, and skills to make Texas roads and highways a safer place to drive.” Other benefits of taking a defensive driving course include ticket dismissal and insurance savings, all at a reasonable cost.
The Easiest Way to Take Defensive Driving in Garland? Do it Online
With the hectic pace of life, the easiest way to complete a course is to take it online. The ability to work at your own pace from your own place makes it the most convenient way, too. Any of the schools listed below offer courses approved for ticket dismissal and/or insurance discount. And you can choose any of them with confidence as they are fully certified by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).
Garland’s Best TDLR-Approved Online Defensive Driving Providers
School | Name | TDLR Ref # | Phone | Rating |
 | CP-280 | |||
 | CP-814 | |||
 | CP-262 | |||
 | CP-024 | |||
 | CP-090 |
Online Not for You?
We understand that learning online is not everybody’s preference. If you prefer to “get your learnin’ live,” you can still get out and take defensive driving in a classroom.
Depending on the school, classroom defensive driving has always been fun; being in the presence of humans again might even make it more so. Now I’m not gonna lie; classroom defensive driving in Garland is hard to find anymore. Here are some schools where you can still make that happen.
Major League Driving School
First opened in 1997, Major League Driving School is family owned and operated, offering a TDLR-approved defensive driving course. With locations in Mesquite and Terrell, it’s convenient to make it to your driving class. Their knowledgeable staff is state-certified, experienced, and supportive as you learn how to become a safer, better driver.
1200 E Davis St Ste 103, Mesquite, TX 75149 or call (972) 289-5400 or you can find them on Facebook
Ballard Defensive Driving School
According to their website, the folks at Ballard have “made defensive driving Incredibly fun & easy with comedy” since 1998. They offer a great way to complete defensive driving for auto insurance reduction or traffic ticket dismissal. Ballard Defensive Driving School is State Approved and their course is accepted by all courts in Texas for ticket dismissal.
To contact them you may Zoom Call at 6 pm CST then call (972) 222-6088 after you watch the zoom
In the bygone B.C. (before Covid) days, schools like Comedy Guys, Funny Bone, and My Improv were famous for their defensive driving classes that were more or less dinner and a show. Hopefully, they’ll be back soon.
If You Have Received a Ticket in Garland
Defensive driving courses can be used to improve driving skills and earn insurance discounts, but the benefit most people look for is ticket dismissal.
The first step to taking defensive driving is receiving permission to do so. The Garland process for asking “pretty please” can happen:
Dismissal for most citations is possible unless the ticket was written:
- For speeding 25 miles per hour (or more) over the posted limit
- Passing a stopped school bus
- In a posted construction zone while workers are present
- Leaving the scene of an accident
- Fleeing police
Ticket dismissal is also not a possibility if you are the holder of a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) or if you have dismissed a ticket with defensive driving in the past 12 months.
Driving in Garland
Just to the east of Dallas, Garland has easy access to Dallas county’s excellent highway system. But, while this system really is to be envied, negotiating it can be tricky. This is due in large part to the fact that locals refer to a lot of the roadways in the system by name instead of number. Let’s break down a few.
If you are driving on:
- Interstate 20 west of 635, you’re on the Ronald Reagan Freeway. (To make things more confusing, there’s one of these in Houston, too.)
- Interstate 30 (east of Interstate 35W) you’re on the East Freeway
- Interstate 30 (west of Interstate 35W) you’re on the West Freeway
- Interstate 30 (from west of downtown Dallas to downtown Fort Worth) you’re on the Tom Landry Freeway
- Interstate 35E (south of downtown) and Interstate 30 (east of downtown) you’re on R.L. Thornton
- Interstate 635 you’re on LBJ
- Texas 161 you’re on the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT)Why no traffic reporter has referred to this roadway as “the Pig Butt” yet is still beyond me
And don’t even get me started on the S.M. Wright Freeway or the Julius Schwepps or the Marvin D. Love or the John Carpenter. Who were all these guys anyway?!?
More Cool Stuff About Garland
Besides its wide variety of peculiarly named freeways, Garland has a lot to offer. What lures people to live and work and visit Garland? Maybe it’s…
- The Sports—Dallas is home to six professional sports teams
- The Dallas Cowboys (NFL)
- The Dallas Stars (NHL)
- The Dallas Mavericks (NBA)
- The Dallas Wings (WNBA)
- FC Dallas (MLS)
- The Texas Rangers (MLB) not to mention
- NASCAR and Indy racing at the Texas Motor Speedway
- The Things to See and Do
- The “Everything’s Bigger in Texas” Stuff
- The 52 foot talking ‘Big Tex’ statue that welcomes visitors every year to the State Fair of Texas
- Cowboys Stadium—With the convertible top closed, big enough to house the Statue of Liberty. Also home to the biggest stadium video screen in the country
- In December, the Dallas Galleria is home to the world’s tallest indoor Christmas tree
- The Movies and TV Made here
- Dallas
- Silkwood
- Places in the Heart
- RoboCop
- Born on the Fourth of July
- Walker, Texas Ranger
- Prison Break
No Matter Your Plans
Whatever you decide to see or do in Garland, be careful driving to get there. Without question, the driving environment here can pose some real traffic challenges. Consider taking a defensive driving course to make sure you get to your “whatever” safely.
John Fabel
I have a long and checkered history with defensive driving. I took my first "court invited" course at age 15 and realized immediately that there had to be a better way. Since that first experience, I have gone on to teach defensive driving classroom courses and to author four internet courses in 2 states. After nearly 25 years in the industry, I can help you find a course that will be the best fit for you.Recommended Reading
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