NDORS Speed Awareness Course.

FrenchieBoy

Well-Known Member
I did my Speed Awareness Course yesterday as it was a bit cheaper (£85) than the £100 fine and meant that I did not get the three points on my license. The course was held at the Mancure Dunkehalgh Hotel near Accrington. It started at 13:00 and ran till 17:00, but we all had to be there at least 20 minutes before the start time to book in. There were 24 of us there on the course.
The course was run by 2 ADI instructors, there were no police in attendance.
I have to start by saying that there was no "talking down" to any of us - We were all reminded that we were there because we had been caught breaking the speed limit, and that was that - Not quite what I had expected (as I did expect a little "wrist slapping and being told that we had all been naught people" but that didn't happen.
It started with the instructors introducing themselves and then an interactive talk about the consequences of speeding - Mainly the risks of injuries and fatalities at different speeds. Then it went on to how to be more aware of the many different speed limits on different roads.
We were then shown some short video clips and asked what dangers or hazards we could spot, and if we hadn't recognised the hazards they were explained to us along with how we could recognise then in advance in the future.
Throughout the entire course we were all asked to participate and offer our own input thought and comments and at the end of the course we were all asked to write down a "pledge" to ourselves in the handbook that we were given to work with. This pledge was personal to each individual and was not made known to either the instructors or any of the other "candidates".
The course offered two breaks for coffee etc, but we were all reminded that timing was crucial to get the entire course finished on time and anyone returning late would be asked to leave the course and marked down as not completed the course - Which wa fair enough and all completed the course.
There are several things that this course taught me and I am glad that I took it: It drove home the fact that even though I thought I was a good driver (After holding a full license since November 1968) there were things that I could do to improve my driving and also if I took another driving test again I would almost certainly fail through being over confident and too "cock sure" of myself and my driving abilities!
If any of you are unfortunate enough to get caught for speeding and are offered one of these Speed Awareness Courses as an alternative to the fine and points I would urge you to accept it. It will only take four hours of your life but it will be four hours well spent and you will almost certainly learn and gain something from the course which might well help to make you a better and safer driver!
 
I recently did one too, found it quite interesting and was alarmed at the knowledge (or lack of) in some of the other attendees. Similar in some respects to the training we used to do when I was into advanced riding.
Well worth doing and not just as a way of dodging the points.
 
£100 for the course and no points or £60 fine , but insurers still load your renewal after a course and 3 more points. It's not just about the fine but the total cost !
 
The police like the courses because they get a cut of the revenue, whilst fines go straight to the chancellor.

I did one in Jan 2015 learnt some stuff, shame the 30 odd people who smashed into me on the M40 in Feb 2015 didn't.
 
Or you could just all slow down, then you don't have to choose between points, fines, courses and more expensive insurance. The difference in journey times between sticking to speed limits and being over enough to be "done" is usually so little anyway.

I am of course being a little provocative there. But at least these courses give you a choice of sorts, so it's hard to knock them really.
 
I have to disagree. I did one of these and learnt nothing. It was patronising and flawed logic (their premise was speed kills - actually it doesn't). The letter they send basically says be good or still get the points - so I just bit my tongue.

Since then I did my trailer test and passed so I can easily pass a driving test (3 minors).
 
I get the impression this is like most new ideas that come from Authorities it is all about the revenue and nothing more just like the Road Safety Cameras as they call them. And no have never done a course and have a clean licence thank you.
 
If speed kills why isn't everyone who travelled on Concord dead?

Inappropriate speed, combined with inattentive driving results in road traffic collisions which can lead to fatalities. Doesn't really trip off the tongue as readily though.
 
Something else that most people (and lawmakers/police) do not want to understand is that modern cars have far better features compared to only a few years ago. And the fact that certain cars have superior performance (safety, braking etc) than others, so my 100 mph can often be safer than someone else's 60 mph.
 
Well that is as maybe but that also means that the authoritues have to maintain the roads in safe usable condition and in most parts of the country that is simply not going to happen. In Lincolnshire rather than do this they lower the speed limit on the road and leave the condition as is.
 
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