What did you learn on a speed awareness course you didn't know before?

[rondo]

Or I suppose you had forgotten?
Or what were you surprised other people did not know?

Over half the people on my course were there for going 24 in a 20, even the instructor said that the limits were too slow (these are main arterial routes) and causing accidents because out of boredom people are doing things they shouldn't be, eg fiddling with phones. 2 people on my course were police officers!

You are being a bit BORING though @cakeorwine

Are you going on a speed awareness course?

No.

Good.

And quite frankly, I don't care what you think of me. The best way to stop is not to respond to someone. So calling them "boring" doesn't really help that.

I wonder if you'll respond to that? Or just ignore it - as I tried to do with the comment yesterday evening about being called "thick", Until someone then called me pedantic.

no. Too boring.

The speed awareness course I went on a few years ago was a real eye opener. The instructor told us about the time we could be gaining by going at 40 rather than 30. It's very little and just not worth it.

The motorway safety course on the other hand was laughable. The time was mainly spent extolling the virtues and benefits of smart motorways. The smart motorway programme was paused the week after because of safety concerns.

This. On the course I was on, a 70-something man who drove everyone crazy with his nitpicking and denial of wrongdoing (I’m old myself, so no ageism here). Eventually I interrupted and said we were all fed up with his attitude and that he needed to shut up. The course leaders thanked me afterwards!

Part of the deal of going on the course is that you admit your guilt. (I may misremember it, but I have a feeling we were all asked in turn right at the start).

They person that started banging on about knowing better than the judge what the speed limit should be was singled out and specifically asked - in front of the group - if they acknowledged they had done wrong. They were told that if they genuinely believed that hadn't then they would not be assessed as having completed the course and referred back to the courts.

They shut up.

Said old git grudgingly admitted guilt initially but then spent much of the time trying to weasel out of it. His most annoying (and pointless) line was that his problem was that he “couldn’t help driving like a young man”. It was at this point I told him to shut up.

@cakeorwine do you find the psychology of the terminology interesting or is it just me? It's been proven by calling it the "fast lane" encourages speeding as it implies you by default go faster than the other lane(s). I also feel we should continue this conversation as it's clearly important given some of the responses on this thread.

We didn't have to 'admit guilt' in any verbal way, and certainly not by taking turns to do so. There was no shaming.

But it was made clear by the trainers that there were no excuses for speeding. Any excuse that people could come up with (and some of them have been used here) still comes down to driver error/lack of observation/loss of concentration. And I think that was important to recognise.

I didn’t know that and it’s sobering.
I learnt the ‘tyre to tarmac’ heuristic and it’s great- it’s made reading the road much easier, my driving is smoother, I’m all round a better driver.

I think in this case the "average" has to be the median because it would be so difficult to apply a numerical metric to "good at driving" in order to assign a mean.

So Cake, do you think anyone on here is going to charge their language from slow/middle/fast lane to inside/outside lane because of your postings? I certainly won't. Everyone knows what slow/middle/fast lane means, people can see it with their own eyes. Whereas I had to spend time explaining to my son what inside/outside lane means and he correctly pointed out that it makes no sense because the outside lane is the one right inside the motorway and the inside lane is the one on the edge.

The other thing about "tyres and tarmac" is that if the car in front stalls or stops for some reason it gives you enough room to get out into the next lane comfortably.

I love a speed awareness course! Especially now they are online. One of the few places where rich and poor alike mix as absolutely equals ( as it should be under the law!).

I learnt The lampposts thing meaning you should assume it’s 30 speed limit ( or 20 in wales) if you can’t see a speed limit sign.

Never been on one but I remember before it was done over zoom, a friend went on one and got a speeding ticket on the way home from it. 🙈

No it hasn’t. I learned in the 80s and the NSL on dual carriageways was 70…we have a ring road in my town on which the limit was 70 when I learned but it now a 40 limit

The person running our course was really strict about distractions. He directed questions at named individuals to make sure we were all paying attention, and one girl who didn't respond because she was distracted by someone else in the room really got a strip torn off her. He made it very clear that if we didn't pay attention we'd be chucked off the course and referred for a fine.

I got done for going a few mph over 20 on a road where everyone else was doing the same.. I could reasonably say I wasn't unsafe, but I wouldn't claim that was any excuse. I know it was essentially because I didn't want to be the driver holding everyone else up, so at the very least I learnt to be strong-minded and not care about that.

I learned the speed camera/accident thing that meant I was able to successfully challenge my 3rd speeding offence on the same stretch of road...

(and before you come at me. The road is a steep downhill that slows from a 50 country lane, to 30 on the steepest part. Each time I was 'caught' I was doing less than 35. The mobile camera was on the flat where the houses started and about 100m from
me. There hadn't been an accident on that road in 9 years - I wasn't the only person to challenge it, and there hasn't been a camera on that road since (about 5 years now).

Otherwise it was a good course both times, although as the second was only 2 years after the first I def got more out of the first!

Lol learnt nothing because never needed to go on one. If your not observing everything new speed limit signs etc then heaven forbid a child steps out on you

Even DH, who prides himself on his driving, will admit he learnt new stuff on his speed awareness course, mostly because it was 30 years since he passed his driving test. I do think the people who claim they learnt nothing are probably the people who need them most.

I was going to post exactly the same. We were told this and as I had been caught doing 34 in a 30 limit this stuck in my brain and I always do this now and it works brilliantly.

I was also doing the course with a really fab group of people and we all really gelled and actually had fun too - apart from the horrible man who was extremely pissed off about being there and kept asking questions about what would happen if he was doing the correct speed but someone was giving him a BJ 🙄 He was nuts and creepy. He got kicked off the course there and then.

The psychology and mindset of driving and terminology is fascinating.

I also find it interesting how some people can change their view in light of new evidence and some people just can't.

I think I can see why some people on here have had to attend speed awareness courses.