Speed Awareness Course

Jenni_D

I agree with the premise of what the OP is suggesting, but as @Ditzy_Mitzy mentions above the practicalities of such an approach are not reasonably manageable.

DanDare999

Jenni_D said:

I agree with the premise of what the OP is suggesting, but as @Ditzy_Mitzy mentions above the practicalities of such an approach are not reasonably manageable.

It's simple to manage, make the cost of a speeding ticket £500 reduced to £100 on successful completion of a course.

sevenhills

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

The general consensus is that a speed awareness course is a less harsh punishment than a proper ticket, so courses get offered in less serious cases of speeding and tickets in more serious cases.

When people are offered a choice, they choose the easiest option for them.
Does every motorist know that speeding is wrong and poses a greater danger of killing someone, of course they do.
So long as they receive points and it affects their insurance, they will remember that.

[Deleted User]

shiraz99 said:

Lizmoretti said:

If I’m caught doing 33mph in a 30 zone, I would be offered/have to do a speed awareness course.

But if I was doing 43mph, I’d be given a fixed penalty.  But why no speed awareness course?  Why is it that someone who has broken the limit so badly doesn’t need to be educated about their transgressions and the potential dangers of doing so?

As others have mentioned you'd be very unlucky to get anything for doing 33mph in a 30. The ACPO guidelines state the threshold for speeding offences to be 10% + 2mph, so you'd need to be doing at least 35mph before any action.

The difference between getting a course and being prosecuted is all about how much of a danger you are. Clearly driving at or in excess at 43mph in a 30 shows you to be more of dangerous road user than simply straying over the speed limit a bit.

ACPO guidance is purely for speeding, they still have discretion to take action depending on circumstances. Someone doing 80 on a motorway is likely to get nothing but doing 35mph past a school (given the speedo would probably show 37-40) could well be pulled

Car_54

Deleted_User said:

shiraz99 said:

Lizmoretti said:

If I’m caught doing 33mph in a 30 zone, I would be offered/have to do a speed awareness course.

But if I was doing 43mph, I’d be given a fixed penalty.  But why no speed awareness course?  Why is it that someone who has broken the limit so badly doesn’t need to be educated about their transgressions and the potential dangers of doing so?

As others have mentioned you'd be very unlucky to get anything for doing 33mph in a 30. The ACPO guidelines state the threshold for speeding offences to be 10% + 2mph, so you'd need to be doing at least 35mph before any action.

The difference between getting a course and being prosecuted is all about how much of a danger you are. Clearly driving at or in excess at 43mph in a 30 shows you to be more of dangerous road user than simply straying over the speed limit a bit.

ACPO guidance is purely for speeding, they still have discretion to take action depending on circumstances. Someone doing 80 on a motorway is likely to get nothing but doing 35mph past a school (given the speedo would probably show 37-40) could well be pulled

The guidelines do indeed say that they "do not and cannot replace a police officer's discretion".

However, probably the vast majority of speeding offences on motorwaysare detected by cameras, not police officers, and it seems that the 10% plus 2 threshold is applied pretty rigidly. Certainly many cases on Pepipoo feature enforcement at 79 in a 70, 35 in a 30, etc.

Jumblebumble

Car_54 said:

Deleted_User said:

shiraz99 said:

Lizmoretti said:

If I’m caught doing 33mph in a 30 zone, I would be offered/have to do a speed awareness course.

But if I was doing 43mph, I’d be given a fixed penalty.  But why no speed awareness course?  Why is it that someone who has broken the limit so badly doesn’t need to be educated about their transgressions and the potential dangers of doing so?

As others have mentioned you'd be very unlucky to get anything for doing 33mph in a 30. The ACPO guidelines state the threshold for speeding offences to be 10% + 2mph, so you'd need to be doing at least 35mph before any action.

The difference between getting a course and being prosecuted is all about how much of a danger you are. Clearly driving at or in excess at 43mph in a 30 shows you to be more of dangerous road user than simply straying over the speed limit a bit.

ACPO guidance is purely for speeding, they still have discretion to take action depending on circumstances. Someone doing 80 on a motorway is likely to get nothing but doing 35mph past a school (given the speedo would probably show 37-40) could well be pulled

The guidelines do indeed say that they "do not and cannot replace a police officer's discretion".

However, probably the vast majority of speeding offences on motorwaysare detected by cameras, not police officers, and it seems that the 10% plus 2 threshold is applied pretty rigidly. Certainly many cases on Pepipoo feature enforcement at 79 in a 70, 35 in a 30, etc.

Meanwhile in the real world I would add that despite many people claiming on various forums that they were given speeding tickets at below ACPO guide lines not a single person has ever been able to prove it when challenged by posting  such a ticket to the forums
Has anyone here ever been sent a NIP for speeding which did not  exceeding ACPO guidelines ?

DanDare999

Car_54 said:

Deleted_User said:

shiraz99 said:

Lizmoretti said:

If I’m caught doing 33mph in a 30 zone, I would be offered/have to do a speed awareness course.

But if I was doing 43mph, I’d be given a fixed penalty.  But why no speed awareness course?  Why is it that someone who has broken the limit so badly doesn’t need to be educated about their transgressions and the potential dangers of doing so?

As others have mentioned you'd be very unlucky to get anything for doing 33mph in a 30. The ACPO guidelines state the threshold for speeding offences to be 10% + 2mph, so you'd need to be doing at least 35mph before any action.

The difference between getting a course and being prosecuted is all about how much of a danger you are. Clearly driving at or in excess at 43mph in a 30 shows you to be more of dangerous road user than simply straying over the speed limit a bit.

ACPO guidance is purely for speeding, they still have discretion to take action depending on circumstances. Someone doing 80 on a motorway is likely to get nothing but doing 35mph past a school (given the speedo would probably show 37-40) could well be pulled

The guidelines do indeed say that they "do not and cannot replace a police officer's discretion".

However, probably the vast majority of speeding offences on motorwaysare detected by cameras, not police officers, and it seems that the 10% plus 2 threshold is applied pretty rigidly. Certainly many cases on Pepipoo feature enforcement at 79 in a 70, 35 in a 30, etc.

They have done to some extent though. It's not the officer on the street who decides the outcome of a TOR. 

[Deleted User]

Jumblebumble said:

Car_54 said:

Deleted_User said:

shiraz99 said:

Lizmoretti said:

If I’m caught doing 33mph in a 30 zone, I would be offered/have to do a speed awareness course.

But if I was doing 43mph, I’d be given a fixed penalty.  But why no speed awareness course?  Why is it that someone who has broken the limit so badly doesn’t need to be educated about their transgressions and the potential dangers of doing so?

As others have mentioned you'd be very unlucky to get anything for doing 33mph in a 30. The ACPO guidelines state the threshold for speeding offences to be 10% + 2mph, so you'd need to be doing at least 35mph before any action.

The difference between getting a course and being prosecuted is all about how much of a danger you are. Clearly driving at or in excess at 43mph in a 30 shows you to be more of dangerous road user than simply straying over the speed limit a bit.

ACPO guidance is purely for speeding, they still have discretion to take action depending on circumstances. Someone doing 80 on a motorway is likely to get nothing but doing 35mph past a school (given the speedo would probably show 37-40) could well be pulled

The guidelines do indeed say that they "do not and cannot replace a police officer's discretion".

However, probably the vast majority of speeding offences on motorwaysare detected by cameras, not police officers, and it seems that the 10% plus 2 threshold is applied pretty rigidly. Certainly many cases on Pepipoo feature enforcement at 79 in a 70, 35 in a 30, etc.

Meanwhile in the real world I would add that despite many people claiming on various forums that they were given speeding tickets at below ACPO guide lines not a single person has ever been able to prove it when challenged by posting  such a ticket to the forums
Has anyone here ever been sent a NIP for speeding which did not  exceeding ACPO guidelines ?

There was one on Simon Mayo's old Radio 2 show who was adamant they got it for being 1mph over the average speed limit on a section with the dual cameras but I agree with the above, unlikely anyone will get one for 10%