Our police force's rules are, get caught at up to or below 37MPH and you can attend a speed awareness course rather than the points.

It's a proper shit feeling not knowing whats gonna happen.

Always confused me this one about how long points are valid for. As I'm aware they are valid for three years then after four years you can apply to have them removed but on all insurance sites they ask if you have any convictions in the past 5 years?? why do they say 5 years? So if after 3 years do you still have to declare them to your insurer?

Has anyone been on the course and what do they make you do? Do you just have to attend or is it a pass / fail thing?

bend over kam, i'll show you....

Has anyone been on the course and what do they make you do? Do you just have to attend or is it a pass / fail thing?

instead of paying 60quid fine you pay 100quid fine and go on the course which eliminates the points added to your licence!

(trust it to be more expensive! )

my friend had to go one one and he spent the day at some centre, IIRC its not a pass/fail thing...you just attend and come away!

it was also somewhere sillyabout 60miles away the course from where he lived!

Has anyone been on the course and what do they make you do? Do you just have to attend or is it a pass / fail thing?

I've been on one :(

It was £60 (our force charges the same as the speeding fine).

You *must* get there on time, and have your licence, but so long as you attend the whole thing, it counts. Not a pass/fail type thing

They talk to you about the dangers of speeding, and why you were speeding (bloody annoying when you were caught by a police car lurking almost underneath the speed limit gate signs).

You have to answer questions like, what are the speed limits for various vehicles?

You look at photos and discuss what limit it should be (trying to teach you how to judge what the limit should be, but no idea how that helps with some of the random speed limits around!)

You have some safety training (like looking at a viceo clip for 20 seconds, the repeating back as many hazards as you spotted - try and beat my 17/20, vs 5/20 from the others, it really annoys the course leaders when you keep giving all the correct answers! )

Generally its a very boring way to pass an afternoon, but its better than points

Edited 8 July, 200719 yr by lunalupi

Hopefully I'll get that option then.

Means i get to skive out of work, not getting points and become a safer driver

I got a letter today saying that I was caught at x time doing x speed on x road.

Limit was 30mph and I was caught doing 35mph.

However, it justs says I need to fill in a form but does not say what my penalty would be? Is that normal?

Cheers.

I tink the form confirms you were driving at the time, though i may be wrong... Did they stop you at the time of the offence?

If not you may have just received NIP - Notice of Intended prosecution, and you might not find out what your punishment is until they process your case. You usually get the opportunity to pay a fine or appear in court, so i would assume if the course was an option, then you'd hear about it at that stage.

hmmm well fingers crossed for me. I went through one on the M25 doing 45 on the speedo and it was set at 40 :( so I hope I get away with it. Stupid M25 grrrr

my dad got the note first

filled it in - and then got offered the course about a week later.

NOT COMPLETELY POSITIVE ON THIS

but if my dad was to be caught again within a certain time frame he would get BOTH sets of points!

il ask him when he comes in

One of my mates is going to have an interesting time soon... He was hitting 140 just before a speed camera and managed to get some braking in, the letter said he's getting done for doing 102 in a 70. He's been driving 3 years, so maybe 11 points and a fine? (clean license)

Or does anyone reckon on an instant ban?

Tell him to wear a suit to court, plead guilty straight away when he is in court, write a letter of mitigation and get a character referernce saying that it was completely out of character and will damage his proffesional oppertunitys if he does not have a car and baically grovel and tell them that he has been scared straight and learnt his lesson and mean it. might not get banned if he is very lucky.

Edited 18 July, 200719 yr by firstxicaptain

One of my mates is going to have an interesting time soon... He was hitting 140 just before a speed camera and managed to get some braking in, the letter said he's getting done for doing 102 in a 70. He's been driving 3 years, so maybe 11 points and a fine? (clean license)

Or does anyone reckon on an instant ban?

Tell him to wear a suit to court, plead guilty straight away when he is in court, write a letter of mitigation and get a character referernce saying that it was completely out of character and will damage his proffesional oppertunitys if he does not have a car and baically grovel and tell them that he has been scared straight and learnt his lesson and mean it. might not get banned if he is very lucky.

or tell him to suck the judges .... lol

I hate how you can get out of being banned if it damages your career or whatever. End of the day, driving is a privilege and not a right. If you abuse that right and get caught you should be banned irrespectively (or face whatever punishment fits the crime). If you need the car for your job, tough shit, should have thought about it BEFORE you were speeding. In fact, if you need a license for your job you should be the most careful person on the road because your lively hood depends on your license which isn't a given right.

Instead they give out this impression that you are nearly untouchable if your job relies on your license.

For anyone that cares. Got a letter today saying I have 2 options

£60 fine and 3 penalty points

or

£67 to go on this driving course.

So looks like I'm doing the course, not exactly cheap but I'm sure I'll make up the £7 difference when it comes to renewing my insurance

Good stuff. I'm sure points wouldn't help coming to insure your project.

i may have been caught on a country road in oxfordshire. it was a truvelo, unmarked and literally in your face round a blind corner, i slammed the brakes on and manged to get 60 before i went over the line but who knows what'll happen now. good thing is i wasnt in the G40 other wise i would of probably been doing about 90 lol but was in the measily 1.2 punto so i may get away with it but i doubt it.

actually been doing some research and i think it was one of these? a 'peek' which is rear facing which would make sense to get people to slow before the hill i was travelling up. i may be completetly wrong and the hungry c**ts will be sending a letter through the door any time soon.

i may have been caught on a country road in oxfordshire. it was a truvelo, unmarked and literally in your face round a blind corner, i slammed the brakes on and manged to get 60 before i went over the line but who knows what'll happen now.

i nearly went though on of them in the same kinda circumstances, i weren't going much over the limit if at all, it was just the shock of coming round a corner and a speed camera in my face. I'd only been passed a week and like a dick slammed my breaks on, if any one had been behind me they would of been straight up my arse (and not in a good way ). having cameras like that is so stupid, how is hiding one so you can't see it till the last second gonna bring down the accident rate?

exactly. agree totally ^^^ I'm the kind of person who would happily vandal one as revenge too lol. its shocking too as i have no idea if I've been caught as there was no flash and I've gotta wait and see if anything comes through the post. I'm convinced i wasnt even speeding or was maybe on the limit but as you said its the shock of one being just round the corner that frightened me. time will tell as i cant remember now.

I filled the form in and then got offered the course.

My course was £85 and luckily about 5 mins away from my college.

It is sort of a pass/fail kind of thing. If you show a non-interest, piss about, generally be an idiot and the instructors feel you have taken nothing away from the course they will inform the police who will mos tlikely give you a £60 fine and the points.

I wouldn't say the course is about speeding either. Yeah they drum you with stopping distances etc.. but when you are actually out in the car its more like an advanced driving course.

I had to give a commentry on exactly what I was doing, it was a right pain.

what happens if your caught miles from home? do you do a course local to you? i think id rather take the 3 points if it meant travelling the country to do the course in the county where i was caught.

^^^ I can't agree with that - the 3 points will make a difference to your insurance for at least the next 3 years, possibly the next 5 years, and the cost of a train to and from one of these courses (or petrol money) will surely be lower than the extra on your premium due to the points.

But the cameras are shit and there is no way that the majority of them do anything other than cause accidents!

A lot of people have told me getting 3 points for speeding doesn't really affect your policy that much because 'everyone' gets caught doing it from time to time. Apparently if you get 6 points thats when they start clamping down on you. I guess 3 points is like a really really harsh warning and then 6 is your punishment.

None of the above is fact though, just things I've been told while discussing it with others.

what happens if your caught miles from home? do you do a course local to you? i think id rather take the 3 points if it meant travelling the country to do the course in the county where i was caught.

You do the course near where you got caught because they take you out in a car on local roads.

There were guys from Scotland on my course and it was near Preston. hth.

A lot of people have told me getting 3 points for speeding doesn't really affect your policy that much because 'everyone' gets caught doing it from time to time. Apparently if you get 6 points thats when they start clamping down on you. I guess 3 points is like a really really harsh warning and then 6 is your punishment.

None of the above is fact though, just things I've been told while discussing it with others.

I rang up to ask my insurer if my premium would change with 3 points after I got caught and they said it wouldn't. could be different for other insurers though, I'm with quinn.

Edited 31 July, 200719 yr by JonDog