Safe Speed Forums

40,000 avoid speed points

By Monique Cleaver - Monique.Cleaver@NorthantsNews.co.uk

11 July 2007: Northants Evening Telegraph : Kettering


THE 40,000th driver in five years caught breaking the speed limit in the county is to go on a special awareness programme to avoid having points on their licence.

And in another landmark against bad and dangerous drivers, the county is to send the 2,000th drink-driver on a course about the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Both courses are run by the Northamptonshire Casualty Reduction Partnership to educate motorists and try to change their driving behaviour.

The speed awareness programme is so heavily subscribed at times they are having to run three workshops a day.

Northamptonshire Police was among seven forces to pilot the anti-speeding scheme five years ago.

Only motorists who are caught marginally over the speed limit are eligible for the course, which lasts three hours, and means they escape having points on their licence. They still have to pay the £60 fine that covers the cost of the course.

In this county, speeding drivers will be prosecuted if they exceed the speed limit by 10 per cent, which allows for speedometer inaccuracies, plus a further 2mph.

This means that drivers caught doing 35mph in a 30mph limit will be invited to the workshop.

The number of motorists caught speeding in 2002 was 85,200, but the figure in 2006 fell to 66,304.

Senior casualty reduction officer for Northamptonshire John Spencer said: "There's a massive uptake on the course.

"Some people are sceptical about it but our evaluations show there's a change in their mindset after they have been on the course.

"Government studies show that people who take part in the workshop are less likely to re-offend."

Motorists come from as far away as Scotland to take part in the course if they are caught speeding in Northamptonshire.

One motorist who attended a speed workshop in Northampton yesterday said it had a huge impact on her.

Wendy Thornton, 51, already had three points on her licence so she opted to go on the course after being caught doing 35mph in a 30mph zone in Wellingborough Road, Northampton.

She said: "We were given the figures on the number of accidents caused by speeding, which was quite shocking and had a big impact on me."

Mr Spencer said: "We use the £60 that each person pays to fund the workshop. Any excess money goes into a ring-fenced fund which can only be used for casualty reduction measures in Northamptonshire.

"Around 95 per cent of people who are offered it attend the workshop."

Mr Spencer said the casualty reduction partnership wanted to extend the scheme to target motorists who break the speed limit by more than the current criteria and to include other driving offences.

He added: "We would much rather educate motorists than put them through the legal system."

The drink-drive workshop follows the same principle as the speed workshop and, if successfully completed, can cut driving bans by 25 per cent.

Although drink-drive convictions are on the increase, studies show participants of the drink-drive workshop are also less likely to re-offend.

On average, about 350 people sign up to the drink-driving course each year.

Last Updated: 11 July 2007 8:31 AM

Mr Spencer added: "We would much rather educate motorists than put them through the legal system."

"Around 95 per cent of people who are offered it attend the workshop."

She said: "We were given the figures on the number of accidents caused by speeding, which was quite shocking and had a big impact on me."

What’s wrong with letting them attend a course nearer to where they live?

Only motorists who are caught marginally over the speed limit are eligible for the course

This always seems wrong to me. Surely the people who need the course most are the ones going far to fast for the conditions, not people just over the limit.