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Kal from Port Arthur asks: My parking placard is near expiration, and I will not be able to have a doctor’s appointment before the expiration of the placard to have it renewed by my doctor. In Texas, is there a grace period for the expired placard? I utilize my placard but I do not want to be in violation because I definitely don’t need a ticket.

Answer: My first question is do you have a blue or red parking placard? As far as I know, the blue parking placard is for a lifetime. The only thing you have to do to renew it is report to the department of motor vehicles every 10 years and it’s automatically renewed by the department. No doctor’s appointment is required. Now if you have a red placard it is valid for six months. If additional time is needed as ordered by your physician, then your physician will rewrite a pass or prescription for additional time for your disabled parking placard.

Heather from Port Neches asks: I have a friend who just received her fourth speeding ticket in two years. How many more tickets can she receive before her license is suspended? She doesn’t believe her license will be suspended because she pays her tickets in full. How many tickets can a driver get before the license is suspended in Texas?

Answer: Speeding kills, and Texas has developed a point system to keep track of drivers’ behaviors. The Texas point system is plain to understand. Moving violations, i.e speeding over 10 miles mph over the posted speed limit, disregarding stop sign/red lights, are two points. Moving violations that result in an crash are three points. In Texas, drivers will have to start paying surcharge if they accumulate six or more points in at 3-year period. The amount drivers have to pay increases with the number of points accumulated. Your friend should be very concerned and should inquire about the current status of her Texas driver’s license. Of course the status of her license will be based on whether or not her speeding convictions were over 10 mph of the posted speed limit.

Nico from Port Arthur asks: The other day I witnessed two people who had a minor fender bender, and they were on a very congested road in Port Arthur. Highway 365 is a major lane of travel. It was obvious what happened. The back vehicle tapped the rear of the front vehicle. End of story, right? But they had traffic backed up forever. Could they have moved the vehicles or are you supposed to leave your vehicles if you are involved in a crash?

Answer: Always call the police when an injury or worse has occurred, and the vehicles cannot be moved. According to the state of Texas, if you are in a collision and no one is hurt, you don’t have to wait for the police before moving your vehicle. If you can drive the vehicle, the law requires you to move it out of the lane of traffic. Giving the scene you described, the two motorists were more than welcome to move their vehicles to free up the congestion of traffic on FM 365. We all know how congested that road can be without a crash. So, YES, if possible, vehicles involved in a crash can be moved out of the lane of travel.

Join Me, Officer Rickey Antoine and the crew of Stephen “Buzzard Boots” Mosley, Lelo “mouth of Hwy 69/73” I. Washington and Tejas “Lil Man” Morning Star for Ask A Cop live on KSAP 96.9 FM, The Breeze radio station every Tuesday from 1 to 3 p.m. Tune in via the Internet at ksapthebreeze.org. Call in questions live at 409-982-0247. Email questions to rickey.antoine@portarthurtx.gov, call 409-983-8673 for voice mail or mail them to 645 4th Street, Port Arthur, Texas, 77640. If you happen to see me in public, you can always approach and “Ask A Cop!”