Anyone here done a Speed Awareness course?

I dont speed.

Weren’t a few posters here preaching about how bad speeding is when I mentioned “spirited” driving a while back?

No, I think most were concerned about your racing, rather than specifically speeding. The lack of concentration on the road environment compared to focussing on keeping up with the driver in front/ahead of the driver behind was the reason for this.

At least that was my understanding of your spirited driving example.

You don’t manage an average of 15000 miles p/a for 17 years if you drive too fast and inappropriately. The proof is in the pudding – no points, no crashes, cop driving course and cop driving job for a year and IAM member (and invited to be a trustee by them) for 14 years = vaguely got the hang of “safe” driving.

Still far from perfect but better than preachers who claim to be whiter than white yet get multiple points or crash.

Ask an insurer who he’d give the lower premium to – me or one of the holier than thou lot with points.

They’d give the lowest premium to me.

You don’t manage an average of 15000 miles p/a for 17 years if you drive too fast and inappropriately. The proof is in the pudding – no points, no crashes, cop driving course and cop driving job for a year and IAM member (and invited to be a trustee by them) for 14 years = vaguely got the hang of “safe” driving.

Still far from perfect but better than preachers who claim to be whiter than white yet get multiple points or crash.

Yeah, I remember you writing something similar justifying yourself in the last thread. Still can’t see you justifying your “spirited” driving to the Feds though. Just can’t understand how you can concentrate properly on both being aware of other road users and racing your mates. P’raps I’m just not as good a driver as those who race…

Ask an insurer who he’d give the lower premium to – me or one of the holier than thou lot with points.

Hmm… nah, can’t really be bothered. I’ll just trust you to be correct on this one.

Surely you’re not judging who’s better by who’s offered the lower premium.

Most-of-saga’s-customer-base-in-better-at-driving-than-Surf-Mat SHOCKA!! 😀

No it’s more than I notice the “preachers” have often had points, have never done any additional driver training beyond their driving test yet still take the high horse position whenever they can.

It beggars belief and is so very “STW…”

Off to advise some Premiership footballers on how to play properly…

I think it was you who choose to take that track on this thread Mat, from what I can see prior to your input it was just a bunch of people sharing their experiences. Maybe it’s a particular hobby-horse of yours, rather than that of your “preachers”?

I did one last week! It was actually quite interesting and informative. Better than three points any day.

I’ve never been on one of these courses but by the sounds of it it should be extended (if it isn’t already) to many other motoring offences and even included as part of the basic driving test.

The driving test does not appear to equip some people with basic road sense and I would far rather see people being pulled for other acts of dangerous driving before someone who was aware of what they were doing but had edged a few mph over the limit.

Sometimes, i admit, I’m not so focused and do err.

I dunno, but I think I’d much rather come across someone who was focussed and speeding, than someone who wasn’t focussed and not. Reaction time is the thing that gets you into most trouble, and if Mr Focussed up there presses the brake pedal a second earlier, chances are (unless he’s doing a bazillion mph) he’ll stop quicker.

What we need isn’t speed awareness courses, it’s simply awareness courses. There are too many sanctimonious numpties on the road who drive half asleep whilst criticising someone for making progress.

No, the roads aren’t a personal racetrack, however, they are lines of communication, and it’s important that they run efficiently, NOT at 40mph because someone’s too scared to go faster

NOT at 40mph because someone’s too scared to go faster

and I could guarantee that when you get stuck behind them they will either be an old codger/codgeress or a young female who has recently passed her test.

I went on a series of driving courses for an ex-employer. I’ll be vague as I have to but part of the extended training involved specific driving skills training – some of it was in the UK and some high speed stuff in Europe.

I hated every minute of it 😆

It taught me a lot and before it I would have considered myself to be a good driver (IAM and experience on track in single seaters and clio cup). Main things were observational techniques and driving very quickly but safely, and I mean at or above the speed limit quickly. It was a very worthwhile bit of instruction and thankfully i’ve never had to use, well did a wee bit once out of slight paranoia ! Anyhoo – hasn’t stopped me getting 2 speeding tickets – one form a camera that I still contend was set wrong and one from a cop who got me at 147kmh (limit is 100kmh) at 2am, midsummer coming down an open sweeping long left hander on an off camber road. Even he agreed it made no sense to brake down the hill and gave me a ticket for 109kmh – nice man 🙂 Still made no difference – i was in the wrong and now tend to stick to the limits unless i briefly wish to get past something or someone that I am not happy being behind. You have to drive in NZ to understand that one – seriously there are people you cannot follow here, crawl along at 80 until there is a passing lane then speed up to 110lmh then slow to a crawl once it ends. Bizarre, i think they teach it as part of the driving test here which incidentally I think means just turning up and being able to point at a car. 🙄

EDit : reading that does make me wonder why i drive a car that can do the speed limit basically in first gear !

They should run speed awareness courses for all the old duffers who drive far to slowly as well .

Reaction time is the thing that gets you into most trouble, and if Mr Focussed up there presses the brake pedal a second earlier, chances are (unless he’s doing a bazillion mph) he’ll stop quicker.

Well, a second would be a very large difference in reaction times, greater than hat associated with mobile phone use. But even with that extreme, the thinking and stopping distance at 30 under those conditions would be the same as those focussed people driving at 40.

Having said that, I’m sure I’m not the only one who is not always focussed, there will be others who start off speeding, then lose focus.

Young guys should not be allowed near a car until they are 25.

At 16 the state should give each of them a 1,200 cc motorbike instead.

Those that survived would be good on the road, the rest wouldn’t be bothering anyone. The big advantage is they wouldn’t be able to take a car load of their mates with them.

If we’d all just take it easy and realise that we’re going to get there eventually anyway. It might be a few minutes sooner, it might be a few minutes later. But getting there in one piece is the most important thing. And stop every once and a while and let someone out. Especially if he or she is driving a car you think isn’t as cool as yours. Things like this will make our roads run a little bit better every day.

Next time you’re “held up” behind an old duffer, just think that it could be your mum or dad. And yes, it will be YOU one day.

I do let folks out, but the most charitable thing i do whilst driving, is to drive slowly, then folks who get a kick out of racing or overtaking, can get their thrill by passing me. They often wave to say thank you, i make sure to wave back n a nice friendly way too

They didn’t bother trying to educate … people who were clearly speeding as a conscious decision.

Yet I still got offered one. 57 in a 50 which used to be a 70, the road hasn’t changed and there hasn’t been an accident on that particular bit – I suspect the justification for changing it to 50 was to unify with the speed limits either side (where they have changed the road and there were accidents) rather than have speed limit changes. TBH I’m surprised I was going that slowly. Getting caught has made me change my behaviour – I make sure I don’t speed where I now know the camera van hangs out (in daylight – they don’t operate in the dark).

I don’t speed in 30 limits. I almost always “speed” on motorways (where speeding is defined as exceeding an arbitrary speed rather than driving too fast for the conditions). I’m sure you lot would have me down as the utterly unrepentant, knows-better-than-everyone-else type, as I’m less than convinced that my speeding is unsafe. I’ve seen the stats, and mostly they’re very distorted if not complete lies. Not really sure what I’d gain from being shown a film about a 100mph crash either – I’ve grown up and no longer drive that fast.

Presumably given that comment they see me as more dangerous because I choose to exceed the speed limit when I judge it’s safe to do so than somebody bimbling along at 36mph in a 30 because it doesn’t really feel that fast 🙄

Of course I didn’t actually go – I applied, but the only dates on offer were either when I had work deadlines due or over the Xmas holidays when I was going to be away. No offer of a date in January despite that still being within the deadline for doing a course. Kind of glad I didn’t though, as it’s more a case of 3 points which doesn’t affect my insurance premium or half a day of my life wasted – just need to make sure I don’t get another one before this one’s run out.

Just use a fairly useful technique called “observation.”

If you used that but still broke the speed limit you’d have just as many points as me if you’d driven the same roads – both times were a forward facing van which nabbed me as I came over the horizon.

i’ve been on two, each time they’ve really worked, helped me to become a much calmer, safer and more aware driver

Is the irony deliberate? 😯

Is the irony deliberate?

yes, and more deliberate each time

In my opinion speed limits are of a necessity arbitrary (otherwise we would need a gazillion diffent speed limits & signs every 50m or so), some parts of a 30 limit might be safe to do 20mph in some might be safe to do 40mph in, driving above the speed limit on it’s own is not such a terrible crime, driving badly & above the speed for the circumstances is what causes the problem but is usually a whole lot harder to prove in court, so we are stuck with this numbers game.
Mind you I think you have to be a fairly poor/inobservant driver to get done for speeding by cameras or unmarked police cars, no not such a bad thing really.

Mind you I think you have to be a fairly poor/inobservant driver to get done for speeding by cameras

Even mobile ones which nab you as you come over the horizon?

yes, of course. The observant driver “jams on ‘is anchors” safe in the knowledge that there’ll be no one behind you ‘cos you is faaarst!

Attended a Speed Awareness Course years ago on this god awful industrial estate by the Dorset Police HQ. It was pretty decent to be honest, most of us seemed to have been doing about 35 in a 30, but it was preferable to points.

Then two years ago, whilst driving back from Latitude Festival, I was busted by a mobile unit in some windy rural Suffolk backwater. Ignorance is no defence, but I’d never driven on that road before and the speed limit was jumping from 30/40/50 and then 50/40/30 plus various other combinations. I was clocked doing 45 in a 40.

Again, I was offered the chance to attend a Speed Awareness Course, however…this time the course was to span two days. This would necessitate two nights in a hotel, a 12 hour (approx) round trip from Bournemouth and 2 and half/3 days off work. I quickly worked out that this would cost far more than any rise in my insurance premium (as it turned out, there was none) and took the points.

Who’s been caught at the highest speed then?….

I did one in Preston, 2 hours in the class room and 2 hours out with an advanced driving instructor, not too bad all round.

Even mobile ones which nab you as you come over the horizon?

Erm driving above the posted limit over a blind summit?….

Erm driving above the posted limit over a blind summit?….

The issue is safe speed. If the limit is 60, you’re still not stopping if something’s blocking the way just over the brow. Hence speed limits being arbitrary, usually meaningless, and hence ignored (or at best, paid lip service to) by most people who are relatively confident at driving a car.

Ironically, they’re also ignored by those who aren’t – the 40-everywhere brigade, who are usually the ones to get upset when you overtake them on an NSL, only to get them up your chuff in the 30mph village when they’re just sailing through at 40

QUOTE: Zedsdead – Member
Who’s been caught at the highest speed then?….
UNQUOTE.

105 in a NSL.

For anyone familiar with Dorset, it was the stretch of dual carriageway between Dorchester and Wool, literally the only stretch of fast road anywhere in this motorway-free county.

It was stupid of me, I forgot my golden rule of slowing down as I pass flyovers, in case there’s a patrol vehicle on the slip road…and there was!

The copper was really nice though, by rights he should have sent me to the magistrates court, but because I was polite and didn’t try and argue with him (not that I had much of an argument to offer), he just gave me the points.

I think I’m points free again now, which is nice.

Mind you I think you have to be a fairly poor/inobservant driver to get done for speeding by cameras or unmarked police cars

Not true. Some of the mobile units hide themselves very well.

Quite a few years ago while driving through Northumberland I was caught by an marked car, which according to the nice policeman could not be seen from the road. He was aware I had clocked him as soon as he started catching up with me and I was eventually pulled 2.5 miles from the original offence spot. We had a nice chat about speeding (he agreed my driving was not unsafe for the road and conditions) and although both in cars, he was actually more into bikes. Anyway, to cut a long story short we reached agreement on a ‘reasonable average’ over the 2.5 miles of 96.9mph (60mph limit) and he kindly pointed out that at least 3 of the 13 or so camera between there and Edinburgh were ‘on’, for which I was very grateful.

ps. someone I know in Aberdeen held the speeding record for a little while at IIRC 90mph over the limit. It was a 15mph area and he was ‘making progress’ in his Ferrari. Not actually dangerous at the time and location where he was caught!

Even mobile ones which nab you as you come over the horizon?

Are they invisible then?

Yes even mobile vans – always flipping obvious IMO.

Apart from unmarked cop cars, if you get nabbed for speeding, you aren’t being observant enough.

QUOTE: Surf-Mat – Member
Apart from unmarked cop cars, if you get nabbed for speeding, you aren’t being observant enough.
UNQUOTE.

Listen, I’m great at the whole observation lark, it’s just that I was at a really important point in the book I was reading.
The real blame lies with my navigator/speed camera early warning detection system who was asleep at the time, utter dereliction of duty!

I am always trying to focus up ahead at all the spots where cars might be about to pull out etc but you cant always be observing well enough for unmarked police cars.. especially when they are sitting about 100ft up a farm track in a dark grey mondeo.
I got caught doing 83 on a 60 and there was no way i would be scanning up farm tracks to scope out lurking police cars. when they pulled me over one of them asked if i saw where they were sitting. i replied no. i was waiting for him to preach about observation and at that point i would have told him that in the motorcycle test i had since learnt to always focus as far away as possible to try and suss out the dangers as early as possible.I was watching the vanishing point and also the two farm tracks either side of me (one of them had the police further up the hill) but to look up the track to where the police were sitting,that would have been too dangerous at those speeds.They might have seen that as poor observation but looking at it from another point of view, i seen it as doing the right thing.

I dont rag around at those speeds by the way, i had just overtook a lorry that was crawling up a hill. the car was running crap with a dodgy injector since i left the house and i thought i would give it a bit of a rag up the hill once past the lorry…

chose the wrong moment though!