Safe Speed Forums

Hi all,

My neighbour has just popped round to tell me of a speeding ticket he received yesterday (Princess Parkway Manchester...I'd agreed it was a silly stretch for a 40 mph limit).
He has no access to the internet, so on occasions like this I'll help him find various bits of information. On his NIP form which advises of the aforementioned course it gives a drivesafe we address http://www.drivesafe.org.uk/home.php but the FAQ's are not entirely helpful:

He wants to know whether he can defer this course (and pay the current fine and stick with the 3 points) on the off chance he receives another speeding ticket (this is his first ticket in 12 years).
I can find no information on that site or similar sites.

Hope you can help.

Many thanks.

Are really you asking wether he can take the fine and points on this offence, but hold back the offer of a speed awareness course for the next transgression that he may make at some point in the future?

What do you think the answer to that is?

Yes you can do this. This is usually pretty clear on the speed awareness invitation, there is wording like: if you do not respond within 14 days, you'll have to have a conditional offer of fixed penalty instead. That's the £60/3pts.

I don't know why your neighbour would want to do this. They only offer the course to low speeders, so it's not like he can store this course in the bank and then take it when he's faced with a ban for 98mph in a 60 (Each course offer is tied into that specific offence, and the course providers do check this). If his next ticket is 35 in a 30 or something he may get offered the course again (or he may not, not all SCPs do them) but what has he gained? he's still out by 3 points.

Just tell him to take the course. I hear they're actually quite good.

I'd personally be inclined to agree and would recommend the same. I think it might be down to the £20 (£80 for the course but the points are dissolved) - which sounds tight but I know from experience he's very strict with money hence this discourse (he runs his own shop, six days a week, so any time out, to attend this course, will cost him also). The thinking appears to be that it's unlikely he would again receive a ticket and after three years the three points would be cleared anyway (and insurers don't usually pay much heed to three points).
To be clear - this is my genuine neighbour and not me (I'm personally awful with money!!) - he helps us out a heck of a lot and asked me to research his query on the net, which of course I've done. He's a very careful driver and to re-iterate, this stretch of road is nowhere near residential - it's essentially a dual carriageway cum motorway (where the Princess Parkway melts into the M56 for anyone who knows this stretch) and a van apparently 'zapped' him one early Saturday morning.

Many thanks for the information - I'd read an old post on here (at least from last year) attacking these courses as patronising et al, but I'll now recommend he takes it anyway.
Much appreciated.

soma.

Well if it's purely an economic decision then maybe you could go to his insurance website and plumb in details for two people similar to him, one with 3 points and one without and see what the difference is. Dont forget to multiply that by 5 years since that's how long you have to declare the damn things for. It's only 3 years for the purposes of totting up.

If you really want to help the guy out, is it possible you can look after his shop one Saturday while he does the course? I'm fairly sure they do offer Saturday ones, though the waiting list may be longer.

Thanks Lum - I'll try and catch him today and have a word.
If it were me then I'd take the course - I wasn't aware of the fact this was only offered to lower speed offenders - I'll make him aware of that.
I think he was doing 47 in a 40 stretch (which is effectively a motorway, dual carriageway at the least, in all but name) - this is normally chock full of traffic (the majority of which do no adhere to the 40 limit) but he just happened to be 'chosen' on a quiet saturday morning with a 'van' and speed gun on duty. As I said before, he's an extremely careful driver so he's mightily hacked off he got stung.
Any road, huge thanks for the advice.

There's no need to justify your neighbours "offence" here. We're all well aware of what a worthless scam the whole setup is (especially if that road is the one I think it is, it's been a long time since I've been to that part of Manchester).
I'm sure your neighbour is a fine driver and wish him luck with whatever he decides to do about this.

I'd also be interested in hearing what the course was like, if he decides to take it.

The residential streets around where I live are 20mph - and rightly so. The amounts of parked cars on the streets and curvature of them make them accidents waiting to happen. The amount of idiots speeding round here (at all hours) really make my blood boil...but there aren't any camera's round here (and I wouldn't want them). These are the inconsiderate ones, yet of course, continue to be a danger to us all.

It probably is the very same road - where the Princess Parkway/Road joins the M56 just past the river Mersey.

Anyhow - I've bookmarked this site so I'll let you know the outcome.

Many thanks for your point of views.

If it's the kind of idiot I suspect it is, they probably don't own the cars they're speeding in anyway, so all those cameras would achieve is that whichever poor sod had his car nicked earlier that night gets a NIP in the post as well as having to fork out for a new car.

There are two scams here.. one as drivers exit M56.. down to 50 mph past the M60 exit and then 40 mph just as it mergers into the A5103 Princess Park Way. Gatso is behind a rectangular road sign per mine and Mike (Krissi's husband's) recollections here


As far as we can determine via our "grapevine" - Manchester's Speed Aware is COAST based like Lancs. I'd be inclined to take this as it is still a bit like an IAM observation/tuition for many to be honest. YES - we do not agree with how folk get their invites and even question why they invite the least dangerous to these courses when a warning without penalty or course would perhaps achieve the same objective as regards those "blippers" as my wife calls them.


If he can ... he should get a pal or relative to mind the shop for the day in question. Weigh it up against a 5 year insurance hike over a slight overspeed against course cost(with the COAST learning curve ) and a day's loss of profit .


Few agree with the criteria imposed by the courses as regards invites as this really undermines the worthier intent here. . but all the same . the course content and tuition given are better value for money than the fine and the points long term

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Yup - thems the ones Mad Moggie. What's 'Gatso' by the way?!!

I think he does have someone who (extremely rarely for he hardly ever leaves the shop) looks after the store for him, although he may someone I'm none too sure.
I'll look up COAST whilst I'm looking up 'Gatso'! Cheers.



Aye - indeed - the car thieves tend to uber speed (usually without lights...death trap waiting to happen) whilst the other morons tend to be young, high...both...and living off the 'black market'. Invariably 'knobheads' it has to be said.

I haven't spoke to him this week to see whether or not he's agreed to the course mind.
Cheers.

LMAO, you know Manchester well then heh heh.