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Has anyone been on a "speed awareness course"?
trevgo
Posts: 28,241 Forum Member
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Been nabbed by a camera for a modest speed offence, and rather than contaminate my licence, which has been clean for about 30 years, I intend to go to the naughty step instead. It's what happens when you drive home after a ropey night's sleep at a festival.
I just wondered what happens....
I just wondered what happens....
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You will be patronised to within an inch of your life, but hopefully you'll take it on board and not be silly in the future.
I've not been on one, but this is what I've been told.
There were 20 of us there (the next 20 were waiting outside when we left), and it turned out that we had all been caught on camera doing 36 mph in a 30 zone. EDIT If it had been 35 or less, we wouldn't have been fined. If it had been 37 or more, we wouldn't have had the option of the going on the course. Dunno if that's changed now.
The 'course' consisted of one three and a half hour lecture/video presentation in a classroom environment, with a small amount of lecturer/speeder interaction (eg They showed a video of a bad driver, and we were asked how many mistakes we'd noticed). I didn't have to say or write anything, though. Just as well, because I was full of cold and felt dreadful at the time.
Wrong. Your insurance company know nothing about you attending the course.
Fancy that. 37 in a 30, me.
To be brutally honest, though I'm vigilant, I have been incredibly lucky given the miles I drive. Usually in fast cars too, the current one being the sort that feels as if it's stationary at legal speeds.
I'm good at putting the knee pads on, so I'll practise grovelling in the meantime. Incredibly, after so long, I have a feeling I got caught on Sunday on the North Circular too, where I should certainly know better :eek:
Some insurance companies now require you to tell them if you have attended one.
Here is an older thread about the course.
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1728462&highlight=speed+awareness
Sit there for a few hours then leave and forget it ever happened
Any idea which companies?
The second post in that link is pretty much the same as I experienced, right down to the extremely long multiple vehicle pile up video shown at the end of the presentation. We only had one lecturer, though, and she did about 95% of the talking.
It says on the notification "it is likely to be offered if the offence is no more than 10% + 9mph over the limit". That puts me well within.
Don't know but here is a report from the BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20328860
Thanks.
Admiral group.......... including Elephant insurance.
See this is why you should go on the speed awareness course because you will find out that 80% of people hit by cars going at 30 miles an hour survive and 80% of people hit by cars going over 30 miles an hour don't. That why in residential areas the limit is 30!
My mate went on one and came back with loads of stuff like that:)
Interestingly now I know that I am much less likely to (intentionally) break a 30 mile an hour limit. There has been no impact on my speed in non 30 mile an hour areas though:D
Well worth it. if I had to say the main problem with the course, is not with the course or the "lecturer" but rather some of the attendees.
Whilst other compaines might not insist on knowing and probably wont find out, i would have thought its one of the things an insurance company would expect you to tell them.
Im sure there is something in every policy i have read that says something along the lines 'you need to tell us if you think something will affect your policy....'. I would have thought getting caught speeding is one of them.
But that defeats the object of the exercise. You go on a course, usually paying more than the £60 fine, to avoid receiving the points that may increase future insurance premiums offered by certain insurers.
Anyway the insurance industry has no way of confirming whether you have been on a course or not as the information is not made available by the authorities to insurers.
I know all that. I do not speed in built up areas, and living on a side street that is a cut-through I know all about cretins who do. And at a lot more than 37mph.
This was on an A road in rural Suffolk, and I was obviously too slow to reduce as we went through a village. I'm not dodging my responsibility.
Fair enough, I didn't, that's why I found interesting:)
It is a bummer when you get caught out like that
I wasn't suggesting that at all.