Wretched speeding ticket!

[FrenchieBoy]

I got a letter through a week and a half ago saying that I had been "flashed" speeding - 38 in a 30 limit! The ironic thing is that it was a static camera right outside the front of the flats where I live - Talk about s******g on your own doorstep!
I know exactly what happened - It was at 09:09 when i was a couple of minutes late for one of my regular heart check up and my mind obviously wasn't 100% on the speedo so I'm not complaining and offered to plead guilty straight away.
Yesterday I got back from a Sika deer cull (Fog stopped play so only taking 6 prickets) to find a letter waiting for me. It was offering a place on the National Speed Awareness Scheme. From what I have seen on the Innternet this course is only going to cost me £40.00 and a morning of my time (Which I have plenty of) but on completion I will not have to pay the Statuary £100 find nor will I have 3 points on my license which will bounce my insurance up, so I am going to accept it and book myself in.
I'm a little hacked off about it as I am normally very careful about speed limits, I've have had a clean license for more years than I care to remember but I have to hold my hands up to this one and just take it on the chin.
Has anyone else done one of these Speed Awareness Courese and if so what do they entail please?

 

[patrickt]

FB, we have all done what you have done, at least nobody came to grief, except your wallet!

But it is sod's law when you are in a genuine rush, you always come a cropper, or in your case a copper

I believe the course you are to embark on is, one of self efacing, amongst other things. My young friend, who has heavy shoe syndrone was in the same position as you, he attended a course and found it of great value.
Good luck!, Iam sure you will find it interesting, of course you could do a write up, and help all on this site

 

[Old-YOP]

It takes 3-4 hours, and in my case the two guys running it started off with "All of you in this room have one thing in common (apart from being clocked at 38 MPH in a 30 MPH zone) ... none of you want to be here!"

I actually learned some stuff that I didn't previously know, and if you join in rather than sit and sulk (as some on my course did ... mistake, you can still be binned back to points if you come over as too 'anti') then it's not too much time out of your life to spend keeping your license clean.

Jerry

 

[FGYT]

I got a letter through a week and a half ago saying that I had been "flashed" speeding - 38 in a 30 limit! The ironic thing is that it was a static camera right outside the front of the flats where I live - Talk about s******g on your own doorstep!
I know exactly what happened - It was at 09:09 when i was a couple of minutes late for one of my regular heart check up and my mind obviously wasn't 100% on the speedo so I'm not complaining and offered to plead guilty straight away.
Yesterday I got back from a Sika deer cull (Fog stopped play so only taking 6 prickets) to find a letter waiting for me. It was offering a place on the National Speed Awareness Scheme. From what I have seen on the Innternet this course is only going to cost me £40.00 and a morning of my time (Which I have plenty of) but on completion I will not have to pay the Statuary £100 find nor will I have 3 points on my license which will bounce my insurance up, so I am going to accept it and book myself in.
I'm a little hacked off about it as I am normally very careful about speed limits, I've have had a clean license for more years than I care to remember but I have to hold my hands up to this one and just take it on the chin.
Has anyone else done one of these Speed Awareness Courese and if so what do they entail please?

from my wifes exp they intail being treated like a naughty 5yr old by the Company who run the courses (Not police )

usually the Cost of the course is the same as the fine

DOrset offer you 1 choice of date and time and place and get shirty if you say you cant make it Being late by 5 mins was nearly not turning up etc

So turn up Do it go home forget about it

 

[Essex stalker]

They are not that bad, I had to do one about 5 years ago. Go with an open mind and it can be quite informative

 

[FrenchieBoy]

Thanks for the replies guys!
I will be taking the course, and yes Patrick, I will do a short report after attending if it will help others.
Like I said, I was a little over the speed limit (As I am sure just about every one of us has been at one time or other). The road was clear with good visibility and no parked cars or pedestrians or other hazzards about but even so I accept that I was speeding and as such I am happy to take it on the chin.
And of course as Old-YOP has just said I might well learn something worth remembering from the course - Lets fact it none of us are ever too old to learn!

 

[stubear]

I havent done the course, but my sister and mum have (the two speed demons in the family haha) and they both said it was actually quite interesting.

I think they both went there thinking "Dear god, let today go quickly, dont want to be here argh" and came away at the end of it having learned something.

Seems like a better approach than the fine to be honest! I'd be far more open to some drivers-ed than being mugged for £60 plus premiums being hiked which would probably just make me angry hehe

 

[SimpleSimon]

I went on one last week, as others have said it's actually quite interesting and there's no preaching or patronising. If it used to be the case that you were treated like naught kids, it certainly isn't now. However, you'll be amazed at the level of ignorance of some of your fellow attendees!
Mine was £80, they seem to vary by region. Afterwards you're "wiped clean" and have no points, record, etc.

Interestingly, I was the only person of about 25 on the course who had not been caught by a camera (I got pulled by an unmarked car), and one of only a handful caught outside of 30mph limits.

 

[FrenchieBoy]

from my wifes exp they intail being treated like a naughty 5yr old by the Company who run the courses (Not police )

usually the Cost of the course is the same as the fine

DOrset offer you 1 choice of date and time and place and get shirty if you say you cant make it Being late by 5 mins was nearly not turning up etc

So turn up Do it go home forget about it

Maybe I read it wrong but the information on the web site states that the course fees are £40.00 - See the link below and have a read of the last paragraph titled Course feed and refunds.
https://ndors.org.uk/courses/

 

[Archer]

Went on one recently - as did a mate (different area)- and neither of us found a shaming/naughty boy attitude from the blokes running the course

Things to note,

GET THERE EARLY! miss the start time and you are refused admission (that happened to a bloke on my course) which means -I believe- loss of the course fee and you go back into the NIP system for a fine and points plus (I think) you have to attend court.

Wide range of attendees

You work in table groups and can use a spokesman so if public speaking makes you nervous you can get out of it.

Participation from the floor is required -but to be fair you do get drawn in to the subject.

To sum up,
Go with an open mind, treat it as a trip somewhere pleasant and move on.

Oh and although you are not required to disclose attendance to your insurance company I did notify my FLT

 

[palmer_mike]

Maybe I read it wrong but the information on the web site states that the course fees are £40.00 - See the link below and have a read of the last paragraph titled Course feed and refunds.
https://ndors.org.uk/courses/

Course fees vary depending on where you are going to take it. I have form, having done a course in Essex a few years ago and more recently one in Suffolk. The course in Essex was around £100 and the one in Suffolk about £80 I think.....

£40 sounds like a good deal to avoid the 3 points and fine!

 

[basil]

I did one in 2011 in Dorset and it was about £105.
I remember thinking at the time it worked out at £60 for the fine and £15 per point.
The course was taken by two ex motorbike cops and it was an ok experience.

 

[tackb]

I did one , it's rubbish , sit there and suck it up to avoid the points !

 

[bewsher500]

I had thought 38 in a 30 is way over the ACPO guidlines for a Speed Awareness Course

10% + 2mph is the normal limit

but apparently that has changed!
Drivers who exceed speed limit by more than 10mph will escape points and fines (in a move which brings back speed cameras) | Daily Mail Online

take the course and thank your lucky stars!!
As for insurance i would argue as you have neither the conviction nor the points that it is not even something you should be notifying them about.
this is voluntary, you are not being forced, no different to doing a skid pan training day or any other driver training as far as they are concerned.

when have insurers ever asked if you have been on a speed awareness course!?

 

[enfieldspares]

I got flashed some years ago before the option of a course was available.

But FWIW so commonplace is this that most insurance companies nowadays will not raise your premium. However yu must disclose all relevant information to them renewing (or continuing) your insurance so yes you must disclose it.

 

[Archer]

when have insurers ever asked if you have been on a speed awareness course!?[/QUOTE]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...ness-course-and-my-car-insurance-doubled.html
[Admiral is one insurer that openly admits it may still increase premiums. An Admiral spokesman said: “We pride ourselves on very accurately pricing the risk of every driver. Going on a speed awareness course, in our view, doesn’t alter the fact that you were caught speeding. We are perfectly entitled to price this into the risk.” ]

 

[tikka_madras]

Went on one a few years ago for 42 in a 30 caught by a talivan (on a f'ing dual carriageway in a non-residential area, slowing down straight off a motorway).

Was a very patronising experience ("speeding causes a third of all accidents" which is a pile of steaming), but you had to suck it up and they were very aggressive to the couple of blokes who tried to point out their stats were wrong.

I was very plastic fantastic, big smile, 'thank you so much for telling me that going quicker is more dangerous, I always thought that it would be the not paying attention that caused most accidents, but now I see that going so slowly you risk falling asleep with boredom - ha ha - is far safer". Got a fair few funny looks but got away with the cheesy sarcasm. I thought I was going to get a vein on one woman's forehead to pop at one point.

 

[Ranger22]

I got caught years ago, no course back then. No insurance hike, ever. Got an increased number of questions from the police at every renewal since. Been careful about my speed ever since

 

[SimpleSimon]

If your insurer doesn't ask, then you don't need to tell them. You haven't been convicted of anything or received a fixed penalty.

I wouldn't like to quote this as Gospel, but in fact, when I read the small print accompanying the course it doesn't look as if the Data Protection Act allows for details of attendance at these things to be disclosed. I could be wrong, but my interpretation was that only the Police and course providers could access the data.

 

[otbed]

NO - you do not 'have to disclose it'!!!!! The only organisations that can convict you of an offence are courts of law (and the speeding ticket by post is merely a way of offering you the chance to plead guilty without the court appearance) - not insurance companies, the Police nor FEO's. After all, you might well accept the challenge and offer a not guilty plea in court and win - some do! The point about Speed Awareness Courses is that they are an offer to 're-educate' you instead of fighting your corner in a court and possibly receiving a conviction. It is NOT a court conviction!! Admiral is merely a commercial for profit insurance company and will I'm sure be only too happy to raise your premium for not having a speeding conviction if you're daft enough to ask them to!! If Admiral, or any other insurance company, asks about speed awareness courses then vote with your feet - go elsewhere. They've never struck me as competitive anyway. You must disclose all relevant information yes, but 'relevant' doesn't include voluntary education courses.