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Bugger. First speeding ping in the last 20 yrs (doing national travel jobs) bringing family back from Bristol airport at 00:30 - empty Bristol M5, gantry not displaying anything, camera flash and letter today.
Have zero points currently would STW take the points + £100 hit or use a days holiday plus unstated admin cost to go on the awareness course? I'm thinking former but unsure if the insurance bump will be big for a lowly 3 points?
Depends if they offer it to you ...
Were you 15 mph over the speed limit?
Do the awareness course. You can often get evening ones, mine was 5.30 - 9.30pm. It was actually quite good, most people engaged pretty well with it and it wasn't preachy or patronising.
Insurance company never need to know about it.
I'd do the course to avoid having to carry the points for 5 years.
Course every time for me. That answer might be different if I was self employed and the time was going to cost me a couple of hundred quid.
Do the course its only a day at the most, points last for five years
Go on the course - as I commented on the NSL thread, when I was offered the chance to attend one it had been over 35 years since I'd had any formal driving training and had had that time to develop loads of bad habits.
Ok didn't realise there may be an evening option, anyone know the admin cost? I was 14 over.
Cost is usually £100 so the same as the fine. Some insurance companies still ask you to declare that you have been on a Speed Awareness Course so you may still have to declare to insurance company.
Mate just did the course, was slightly less than the fine.
Also points only last for three years, for totting up purposes even if they are declarable to Ins Cos for five and physically remain on your licence for four.
Some insurance companies still ask you to declare that you have been on a Speed Awareness Course so you may still have to declare to insurance company.
Admiral Group ask you.
Not sure if they can find out if you tell porkies though...
I can't believe anyone would take the points if they offer a course instead. Might only be three points but you'd wish you'd done the course if you get a second ticket 🙂
Pretty unanimous - thanks STW!
@sbob - Yeh I don't believe that they can find out as when I did the course they stated that is wasn't recorded anywhere that you had attended...
just to make you aware, i didnt see anyone comment it,
if you do the course and subsequently get caught speeding within 2 years (maybe 3) then you'll have the original points added back on.. (west yorkshire)
I didn't see anyone comment on it
That would be because it's bollocks.
FWIW, if they are your only points, they'll have very little, if any, affect on insurance premiums.
One thing to bear in mind is you may have to go back to Bristol* for the course, i believe some forces will recognise a course run anywhere some won't. This was second hand at the time and therefore may be utter tosh mind.
If it is true I'd take the points over the ten hour return trip to Bristol from here, I'd take the course without hesitating if it were local.
*or at least somewhere in that neck of the woods.
At the risk of starting a completely different argument...
gantry not displaying anything,
Why would that matter?
Basically, you can pay £100 to have 3 points put on your licence.
Or you can pay £100 and receive some valuable education.
Quick Q: how long does it take for a notification to come thru?
I might have gone too fast through the new cameras on the A55 at the weekend not realising that they were now switched on....
🙁
Two weeks if you are the registered keeper.
if you do the course and subsequently get caught speeding within 2 years (maybe 3) then you’ll have the original points added back on.. (west yorkshire)
Not true - if you're caught speeding again within 3 years you do not have the option of the course and it's automatic points but they do not add on anything - the course is INSTEAD OF the points.
When I did mine I could book it locally. The speeding (34mph in a 30...) was in North Yorkshire, I did the course about a mile from work in central Manchester.
14 days to get notice to the registered keeper.
is it your car or a company/lease car? It’ll take longer to get to you in this case as it’ll go to them first and they ID you..
I went on a course. It was worth it for potential insurance costs.
There was some bollocks spoken by the instructors (specifically that you have to be within a foot of a truck to get a slipstream advantage from it - though this was only in response to a remark made in jest about why one might tailgate), but mostly good advice - though really a lot of the issues more relevant for the majority of the class who were caught in 30 zones (where I try very hard not to speed anyway).
To be honest, it seemed to me like a far more effective intervention than getting 3 points and a fine, and I'm pretty happy that this is the first thing offered to people.
To be honest, it seemed to me like a far more effective intervention than getting 3 points and a fine
It does strike me as odd that those most likely in need of the education (large amount over) aren't offered it in honesty. It would seem sensible to me to make it mandatory for anyone caught every time.
I've been on a course, I found it pretty interesting and useful. Again, some bollocks from the instructors, especially around the magic 112 number to dial for the emergency services.
It does strike me as odd that those most likely in need of the education (large amount over) aren’t offered it in honesty.
People driving a large amount over the limit don't need to be educated that it's a stupid thing to do, they know that already but don't care. The point of the courses is that they show that marginal increases in speed that may seem harmless bring with them a disproportionately large increase in the level of risk.
With regards to having to go back to Bristol - this won't be the case. I've got caught speeding in Bristol and was able to do the course in my native Cardiff.
So you were doing 84mph on an empty motorway? They really should up the limits at times, so outdated!
Go on then, what was the thing they said about 112?
What didn't they say about 112...
- it'll use the GPS on your phone to track you down, 999 won't
- it'll get through when there's no signal, 999 won't
and my favourite:
- it works when you've go no battery left on your phone(!)
What they definitely didn't say was that 999 and 112 are exactly the same thing.
as said above, Admiral require you to declare and they seem to have a way of finding out if you have been on one.....
It was actually quite good, most people engaged pretty well with it and it wasn’t preachy or patronising.
Must've been a different course from the one I did.
But yeah. Course over points any day.
My instructor opened things up with "So what's the intial feeling for you all being here"? First response was a dozy woman saying "Not again"...
Hopefully the rest of us learnt a few things! Proper definition of a dual carraigeway and therefore correct speed limit was new to me. Always assumed all two lane roads were classed as such.
@sbob why do you say its bollocks.
@crAZY-LEGS thanks for the clarification. i guess no longer true
i got a speed awareness course in sept 2013, in the small print it said if you get caught speeding in x years, the points from this will be added on to your future points. clearly i dont have the paperwork anymore so cannot prove this :0)
It would seem sensible to me to make it mandatory for anyone caught every time.
That might actually prove a more effective deterrent for drivers who bounce around between 9 and 12 points and value their time more than money in fines and increased insurance costs.
I'd also add a rule that makes you take it within 6 weeks, or loose you licence until it's done if you go over.
Happy to accept I'm in the wrong - but yep 84 on a dry, empty motorway in the middle of the night :-<. The variable France system (where we'd just returned from holiday) of 110/130 kmh depending on conditions is far more sensible.
With regards to having to go back to Bristol – this won’t be the case. I’ve got caught speeding in Bristol and was able to do the course in my native Cardiff.
+1 in my case cheshire following being zapped on the m4.
It was this lot
I hope you don't get the same condescending **** I had. One of the instructors was great though.
Do the course. I did one about 5 years ago and it was awful, hopefully they have got better, that seems to be the general consensus. I found mine hard to take seriously after the tutor was adamant that her answer was correct even though that broke the laws of physics!!!
I went on one once and instructor went round us all at first asking why we thought we speeded. Generally responses were "no paying attention", "few mph extra don't count" and so on. One woman said it was because she was always running late and then confessed to doing 100mph on a 60mph stretch of road on the way to the course... FFS...
What didn’t they say about 112…
– it’ll use the GPS on your phone to track you down, 999 won’t
– it’ll get through when there’s no signal, 999 won’t
and my favourite:
– it works when you’ve go no battery left on your phone(!)
What they definitely didn’t say was that 999 and 112 are exactly the same thing.
I was once told that 112 would work even if you were in a cave. There seems to be this wonderful myth built up around it that it's a magical number that can just be beamed into the sky from a device with no power and no reception...
I got caught on the M5 by Bristol and did my speed awareness course in Northampton.
The course is going to be heavily dependent on the quality of the presenters. The course I did had two instructors, both seemed to know their subject very well but the difference between them was night and day. One was entertaining and engaging, keeping people on board for the message she was trying to get across the other was tedious and condescending and pitched his sections as if they were aimed at a group of under 10's. It was really difficult to pay attention whenever the second instructor took over.
Have zero points currently would STW take the points + £100 hit or use a days holiday plus unstated admin cost to go on the awareness course? I’m thinking former but unsure if the insurance bump will be big for a lowly 3 points?
Take whichever that does not impact on your insurance premium. i.e. awareness course as it sounds like the 3 points will impact on your insurance premium for years.
i got a speed awareness course in sept 2013, in the small print it said if you get caught speeding in x years, the points from this will be added on to your future points. clearly i dont have the paperwork anymore so cannot prove this :0)
I'd be interested if anyone has got any actual evidence of this happening. As you go into the SAC without any conviction or fixed penalty being applied, they couldn't just slap the points on, they'd have to go through this process from scratch, potentially a couple of years after the offence.
It's not like you have the points, but they can be 'suspended' - if you are offered and accepted a SAC, you have neither admitted nor been convicted of any crime.
Does accepting a SAC have the same legal status as taking the fixed penalty or pleading guilty in court?
Taking the points means if you are caught again you've now got 6 points and that will definitely cost you on insurance, why risk it? Taking the course can be an entertaining day too - I'm not talking about the instructors, but a chance to listen to the astounding lack of road awareness of other attendees, and hear their stories of self importance as if they are doing the instructors a favor by being there.