Texas Speeding 16-30 Over: Surcharge Program Ended, Rate Hit Stays

Texas repealed its Driver Responsibility Program on September 1, 2019. Before repeal, drivers convicted of speeding 16-25 mph over the limit paid the state a $100 annual surcharge for three years. Speeding 26 mph or more triggered a $125 annual surcharge for three years. These surcharges went directly to the state, independent of insurance. The repeal eliminated those state-imposed fees. If you receive a speeding ticket for 16-30 mph over the limit today, you pay the traffic citation fine to the court. You do not pay an annual surcharge to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Your insurance carrier still applies its own surcharge at renewal. Carriers call this a premium increase, rate adjustment, or conviction surcharge. The state no longer charges you annually, but your insurer raises your six-month or twelve-month premium for the next three years. For a driver with one prior clean record, a 16-30 mph speeding ticket typically increases premiums 20-40% at the next renewal.

Carriers classify speeding violations by speed bracket. A ticket for 1-15 mph over the limit is a minor violation. Speeding 16-30 mph over is a major violation. Speeding 31+ mph over is a severe violation, often grouped with reckless driving. Major violations trigger a surcharge percentage applied to your base premium. If your base premium before the ticket was $800 per six months and your carrier applies a 30% surcharge, your new premium is $1,040 per six months—a $240 increase. That surcharge persists for three years from the conviction date on most carriers' rating schedules, adding $1,440 total over the surcharge period. Some carriers apply flat-dollar surcharges instead of percentages. A major violation might add $25-$50 per month regardless of your base rate. The method varies by carrier, but the duration is consistent: three years is the industry standard lookback period for moving violations in Texas.

Texas assigns two points for any moving violation conviction and three points for a conviction that resulted in a crash. Points accumulate on your Texas driving record and expire two years from the conviction date. Texas does not suspend your license based solely on point accumulation. The state uses a conviction-count system instead. Six or more moving violation convictions within twelve months triggers a license suspension. Four or more moving violation convictions within twelve months for drivers under 25 also triggers suspension. A single speeding ticket for 16-30 mph over does not approach the suspension threshold. A driver who accumulates multiple tickets within a short window—three speeding tickets in six months, for example—faces suspension risk under the conviction-count rule even if total points remain low.

Texas allows drivers to take a defensive driving course to dismiss one traffic ticket every twelve months. Completing an approved course and submitting proof to the court dismisses the citation. Once dismissed, the conviction does not appear on your driving record. If the conviction does not appear on your record, your insurance carrier cannot surcharge you for it. The course must be completed and proof filed with the court before the court enters a conviction. If you pay the fine first, the conviction posts to your record and the course no longer prevents the insurance surcharge. The defensive driving option is not available for all violations. Drivers with a commercial driver's license cannot use defensive driving to dismiss a ticket received while operating a commercial vehicle. Speeding violations of 25 mph or more over the limit in certain jurisdictions may be ineligible at the court's discretion. Check your citation or contact the court listed on the ticket to confirm eligibility before enrolling in a course.

Preferred carriers—State Farm, Geico, Progressive, Allstate—write policies for drivers with one major violation, but surcharge schedules vary. Progressive and Geico typically apply percentage-based surcharges that scale with your coverage limits and vehicle value. State Farm uses a tiered system that may result in a smaller dollar increase for drivers with minimum liability coverage. Some preferred carriers non-renew drivers after a second major violation within three years. If your ticket is your second speeding conviction in 24 months, expect quotes from standard or non-standard carriers. Non-standard carriers—Acceptance, Dairyland, The General—write high-risk drivers but charge higher base rates even before surcharges. Rate shopping immediately after a conviction is often counterproductive. Carriers pull your driving record at quote time. A conviction that appeared two weeks ago triggers the same surcharge as a conviction from two years ago if both fall within the three-year lookback window. Drivers who shop after six months or twelve months—once any payment history with the current carrier accumulates—may find better retention discounts or bundling options that offset part of the surcharge.

Most carriers apply a major violation surcharge for three years from the conviction date. Some carriers use three years from the ticket date. Review your policy declarations page or contact your agent to confirm which date your carrier uses. At the three-year anniversary, the conviction drops from your carrier's rating calculation. Your premium does not automatically decrease. Carriers do not proactively remove surcharges mid-term. The surcharge falls off at your next renewal after the three-year mark. If your renewal date is five months after your three-year conviction anniversary, you pay the surcharge for five additional months. Some drivers request a policy rewrite on the exact three-year anniversary to force the surcharge removal. Rewriting a policy may forfeit bundling discounts or accident forgiveness benefits earned under the current policy term, so compare the cost of five months of surcharge against the cost of losing loyalty-based discounts. Re-shopping at the 30-month mark—six months before the surcharge expires—allows you to lock in a quote that takes effect after the three-year window closes. Carriers will quote you with the surcharge still active, but you can request a future effective date. Not all carriers allow future-dated policies, but those that do let you secure a clean-record rate before your current policy renews with the surcharge still applied.

Texas does not require SR-22 filing for a speeding conviction by itself. SR-22 is a certificate of financial responsibility filed by your insurance carrier with the Texas Department of Public Safety. It is required after specific triggers: DWI conviction, driving without insurance, at-fault crash without insurance, or license suspension for certain violations. A speeding ticket for 16-30 mph over the limit does not trigger SR-22 unless it resulted in a suspension and you are now applying for reinstatement. If you accumulated six convictions in twelve months and your license was suspended, reinstatement requires SR-22 filing for two years. The speeding ticket contributed to the suspension, but the filing requirement stems from the suspension itself, not the underlying speeding violation. SR-22 filing adds a $15-$25 processing fee per year and limits your carrier options. Many preferred carriers do not write SR-22 policies. Drivers who need SR-22 after a points-related suspension typically move to non-standard carriers or standard carriers with SR-22 programs, such as Progressive or The General.