Speeding fine advice

pendulum

I'd choose to pay the additional stealth tax because you never know what's going to happen in the future, you don't have to be that unlucky to get two speeding tickets arrive within a month (happened to my dad!), and then you'd be in a difficult place with 9 points. Although if you took the points this time they still might offer you the course if you got done again - I'm not sure.

Best to keep the licence clean though.

Lum

You can only do one speed awareness course every 3 years. It's not worth "saving" your one course for a more severe transgression of the law as they only offer it to lower speed offences.

The actual upper limit of speed for the offer varies by police force but 59 in a 50 is toward the upper threshold for a Speed Awareness Offer for. After that you only get the option of a Conditional Offer (£60+3pts) until (typically) 26 mph over the limit at which point it's an automatic court hearing.

iolanthe07

Except that most insurance companies still only ask for convictions. If you take the course you don't have a conviction and they can't charge extra for what they don't know.

Most, yes, but some are now asking a specific question about whether you have taken a speed awareness course in the last 12 months, and adjusting their premiums accordingly.

Paradigm

iolanthe07 wrote: »

Most, yes, but some are now asking a specific question about whether you have taken a speed awareness course in the last 12 months, and adjusting their premiums accordingly.

So, if you had attended a course but answered "no" then what?

AFAIA the data isn't available to insurance co's, in other words the insurance co have no way of knowing if you have or not.

00ec25

Lum wrote: »

This question basically boils down to:

Do I pay an extra £25 (plus time off work) to not have points on my licence.

Is a clean licence worth £25 to you?

its not that clear cut.

I went on the course last year and saved the 3 points , it was clealry stated on the coruse you have not been convicted and you therefore have nothing to declare

3 monthsd later i was silly and got done (37mph in a 30)
the effect of the 3 points was that my insurance premium DOUBLED when i went to renew it 2 weeks later and declared the points then
According to hastings direct I was no longer the sort of customer they wanted as I now had 3 no fault accidents in the previous 5 years plus , for the first time since I started dribning in 1982, a conviction with 3 points.

thankfully Aviva came to the resuce and undercut hastings original renewal quote even with the 3 popints


so it entirely depends on your own circs if the extra £25 is "worth" it , in my case it was as otherwsie i would have had 6 points and the insurancne would not have been so painless

vax2002

I would check the TRO is in order first, you might not have to bend over and take anything then.

Lum

00ec25 wrote: »

its not that clear cut.

I went on the course last year and saved the 3 points , it was clealry stated on the coruse you have not been convicted and you therefore have nothing to declare

3 monthsd later i was silly and got done (37mph in a 30)
the effect of the 3 points was that my insurance premium DOUBLED when i went to renew it 2 weeks later and declared the points then

That was pretty much my point. A clean licence offers you a number of benefits, such as reduced insurance premiums with some insurers, and not having to declare your criminal past on CRB checks and security clearance forms. The OP needs to decide if these benefits are worth £25

(hint: They almost certainly are)

atrixblue.-MFR-.

insurers are asking for too much in respect of driving history to include a course.

the only record of having attend a course is the police files and they wont divulge that info to a third party.

so they really are hoping people wil divulge the info voluntarily when taking out a policy, wich TBH is non of their buisiness.

Joe_Horner

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

so they really are hoping people wil divulge the info voluntarily when taking out a policy, wich TBH is non of their buisiness.

Exactly.

It really is like hoping I'll volunteer the fact that I was doing 55 on one of the local used-to-be-NSL-but-now-50 rural A roads a few days ago even though there was no-one else there to see me.

KierNet

Not sure how old you are, but guessing at least 47? I wouldn't think 3 points would make too much of a difference. Have a look at getting quotes with and without three points.