Course teaches risk of speeding (From Oxford Mail)

Course teaches risk of speeding

1:40pm Friday 9th January 2009 in

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MORE than 150,000 motorists in the Thames Valley have taken speed awareness courses rather than face a fine, since the launch of the scheme five years ago.

In the past year alone, 50,000 people across the region have taken the course, according to the company running the sessions.

No one from Thames Valley Police’s roads policing department was available to comment on the figures, but DriveTech, which operates the speeding awareness courses for the force, said they reflected a growing interest in driver education.

The company said one in three people caught speeding would re-offend, compared with one in 12 who take one of its courses.

Director of communications Steve Johnson said he believed more people had attended courses last year than ever before, not only because more speeding tickets had been issued, but because the reputation of the courses had grown.

He said: “We are educators, not the police.

“We try and make the courses interesting and interactive.

“It’s not just someone standing in front of a classroom talking. We try to change hearts and minds.

“I think more people are taking up the course because they understand the benefits.”

Back in 2003, Thames Valley Police was one of the first forces in the country to allow drivers to avoid fines and penalty points by taking driving awareness courses.

Now offenders are able to take courses across the country.

Louise Goodman, 34, from Aylesbury, attended a speed awareness course near Bicester after she was caught by a speed camera doing 38mph in a 30 zone.

It was her first speeding ticket in 17 years on the road.

She said: “I felt anxious about attending the course, but I thought it was really informative.

“I learnt a lot about the dangers of speeding.”

Kevin Roberts, 51, who attended the same course, said: “I thought it was a really good presentation.

“I noticed there were hardly any younger drivers attending the course. I guess it’s about changing old habits.

“A lot of people think excessive speed is 50, 60 or 70mph, but the course proved 35mph can be just as bad.”

A 63-year-old man, from Oxford, who wished to remain anonymous, added: “Before the course I didn’t think 35mph was an excessive speed.

“I’ve been driving for 47 years and I thought ‘what can they tell me about speed awareness?’ “But it wasn’t as bad as I’d been dreading.

“It wasn’t too preachy. It really made you realise the problems you can cause by speeding.”

Both men were caught doing 35mph in a 30 zone – the former in Bicester, the latter in Wheatley.

tshepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk