Blooming Speeding Ticket!!!!

[Mr R Design]

I have just had my first one since 1989.

39 in a 30 on a country lane that changed from a 40 to a 30 which I did notice but about 10 seconds to late so fair cop I suppose.

I am tempted to go on the speed awareness course as at least I might get something in return for the my money. Has anyone been on one, what are they like?

Also I still have the old paper license and daft as it seems it has sentimental value. Does anyone know if I will have to change this to a photo one if I just decide to go for the points?

I have even been thinking of getting in touch with that Solicitor who gets all the football players off their driving offences but shall probably pass on this.

[tt82]

I've not done the Speed Awareness Course but I know people who have. The general consensus is, that if you go with an open mind, there is actually interesting stuff that you'll learn.

[kwk]

Your licence will change when points are added as they no longer issue paper licences.
The solicitor won't get all the celebrities off. If they were able to do that, the lot of them would be speeding around everywhere. There are certain defences open to everybody in certain circumstances. I do know, I worked within the system long enough.

[Mr R Design]

Originally Posted by tt82

I've not done the Speed Awareness Course but I know people who have. The general consensus is, that if you go with an open mind, there is actually interesting stuff that you'll learn.

At the moment I am tempted to go with this then. Like I said at least I may get something in return for my money.

[Bungo]

Just been on one and I have to say I did learn some usefull stuff.
The only issue is that I did it to keep insurance premium down but at the end of the course they tell you that some insurance companies still ask you if you have attended a course and so your premium can still increase.
Funny story. At the end when trainer asked what people had learned one girl stated that she was only speeding because she wasn't concentrating as she was on her phone. She had learnt to watch her speedo when she's on her phone, (she wasn't joking).

[wimorrison]

I am fortunate in having attended a couple of these courses - clearly they work well

Seriously the first one run by Hampshire was appalling, so bad that I complained to the Chief Constable as the lecturer was trying to make everyone feel like criminals and kept trying to imply that he was a policeman rather than a Police employee - a frustrated policeman probably described him best. What was even worse is that his knowledge of driving was very out of date and he didn't even know why ABS was created or what the actual purpose of it is!

The second was run by the AA for Surrey and was much better, so much so that I would heartily recommend it - even to the point of suggesting that people attend voluntarily and don't wait for a speeding ticket forcing them to attend it.

[tt82]

I used to work at a Business Park in Manchester which hosted the courses in the Boardrooms. Those were all staffed by driving instructers/examiners. They seemed to speak a lot of sense and I had some good chats with them as they waited for attendees to arrive. You could also generally spot about 75% of the attendees as the driving standard was so poor!

[Bungo]

Trainer was nice fella, apologised to all those who were there due to police monthly quota, rather than irresponsible drivers.

[Harvey1512]

Pay the money, go on the course, avoid the points. No brainer.

I suspect enough of us know people who have been on these courses so that we know the content but frankly if it keeps points off your licence then it is money well spent. Hopefully you get something out of it. If not just suck it up and take your medicine, no matter how bitter.

The celeb lawyer. Horrible man earning a fortune getting genuinely guilty people off on technicalities. His bill will probably add a zero on the end of the fine figure. He is rich enough, don't add to his fortune.

[john.wigley]

Originally Posted by wimorrison

The second was run by the AA for Surrey and was much better, so much so that I would heartily recommend it - even to the point of suggesting that people attend voluntarily and don't wait for a speeding ticket forcing them to attend it.

I have asked the relevant authorities if I might do this and the answer was 'no'! I also pointed out that as I was quite prepared to pay the going rate as well, it would generate revenue for them too, but the answer was still 'no'!