Ms. Sara wrote an article addressing the Texas Surcharge from 2003 and this is what I think about it:
I would be strongly in favor of striking this law down. I too am a victim of this ridiculous law, and it has no leniency. I borrowed a friend's vehicle to move a mattress and got a ticket for that vehicle not having any insurance, now I have the surcharge on my record. The state did not even notify me of these payments until the three years was up and they suspended my license. Had I been pulled over I would have been thrown in jail with no idea why I was there. The state should either have a point system or just a lump sum that you can pay off over time. It almost seems like they want people to forget so they can extract more from you if you forget and get pulled over again.
