Yes, and Texas is the state where the arithmetic barely needs an argument.
Run the whole trade honestly. Taking the defensive driving route costs roughly $182 all-in: the $25-and-up course, the court's fee capped at $10, and the associated processing. What it buys is dismissal, the charge resolved with no conviction for insurers to price. Our data puts the three-year insurance exposure on a typical Texas ticket at roughly $4,800 as a ceiling estimate, which makes the course route about a 26x return on the money spent. Insurance exposure is a ceiling, not a promise, since carriers vary and some taper surcharges, but even a driver whose real exposure lands at half the ceiling is looking at a 13x return on an afternoon.
The conditions are the usual Texas rails: the court grants the option, you ask before enrolling, it's available once every 12 months, and CDL holders are outside it entirely. Since September 2025, one course can even clear multiple eligible charges filed together, which only improves the math.
When is it not worth it? Almost never if you're eligible. The edge cases are drivers who'd contest the ticket outright and win, and drivers inside the 12-month window with no course option left.
Courses are compared on the Texas page; the full cost stack is on our cost page.