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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not go on a speed awareness course

303 replies

sPJPPp · 08/04/2015 09:51

The course will be 97 and the fine is 100.

I would get three points and my insurance will go up by about 40 next year.

The course is 2 hours drive away and will take 4 hours. So the best part of a day taken away.

Aibu to just take the points as 40 to loose a day off is just not enough.

OP posts:
BitOutOfPractice · 08/04/2015 10:50

sPJPPp if you were the brilliant driver you thought you were, you would know what the speed limit was on that road wothout signage. It's one of the key things they teach you

One of the real eye openers of the course is that how little everyone in the room knew about speed limits. Particularly the self-proclaimed "excellent drivers"

You sound really arrogant. Anyone who thinks theyhave absolutely nothing to learn about something is a fool in my opinion

I speak as someone who does 10s of thousands of miles a year and have been driving for 35 years. I learned a lot. Particularly about what a lot of wankers there are out there driving, thinking they are brilliant when they actually know very little like you

Whiskwarrior · 08/04/2015 10:51

So many were speeding 'but it was night'. As if there's never any other traffic at night and accidents don't happen at night.

Ffs, if you're caught speeding take responsibility and take the punishment.

Anniegetyourgun · 08/04/2015 10:53

I met a guy recently who had met a woman who was doing 40 in a 30 zone along an empty road at night. They did manage to sew his scalp back on but, months later, they were still trying to save what remained of his leg.

softlysoftly · 08/04/2015 10:53

I'd do the course, I'm HUGELY pissed off that I got booked last year, first time since my teens and offered a speed awareness course but I had EBF DD3 a couple of months old and they wouldn't leg me take her and would not extend the time limit to allow her to get to 6 months so someone else could have her while I attended.

Instead they bounced me back for a court appearance and points. Just sent all my paperwork back Angry

gallicgirl · 08/04/2015 10:53

formerbabe
It's that kind of attitude which put me off the course.
I wasn't speeding deliberately, had just inadvertantly crept slightly above limit while trying to work out where I needed to turn in an unfamiliar area.

Turns out Rospa recommend driving in a lower gear in a 30 zone so the engine can't go as fast and the noise alerts you.
Didn't learn that on the course though.
Sounds like the courses are better now butthe approach was all wrong on the one I attended.

BitOutOfPractice · 08/04/2015 10:53

Oh yes and two of the things that I learned is that

a. you are most likely to die in an accident on a country road than an urban road or motorway

and

b. the key period for fatal accidents is 1am to 6m

So that makes your speeding on a country road at night look like a particularly bad idea doesn't it? Perhaps you're not a clever as you think you are OP eh?

Discounted · 08/04/2015 10:54

Lonny, I was told that you should slow down. If they're not allowing any stopping distance you need to allow it for them, which you do by slowing the speed (making the stopping distance shorter) and leaving more stopping distance in front of you, reducing the possibility that you will have to break sharply.

Although, if they're very intimidating on a country road, I'd probably pull over to let them pass.

Stopandlook · 08/04/2015 10:54

Up to you that's why they give you a choice. I found the course useful, definitely go over speed limit less now, but about two hours too long. Being a snack!

BitOutOfPractice · 08/04/2015 10:54

Again, gallicgirl everyone has a reason why they were speeding. But it's not really a reason, it's an excuse isn't it?

gallicgirl · 08/04/2015 10:55

softly is that discrimination?

gallicgirl · 08/04/2015 10:56

Call it what you like, the course still wasn't particularly beneficial.

thornrose · 08/04/2015 10:57

The important thing with tailgaters is to be sure that the car in front of you is a safe distance away. If you are shunted from behind you need to ensure you won't hit the car in front!

Also to stick to your speed rather than slowing down or speeding up. If he ultimately wants to get past you it's better for your speed to be consistent.

derxa · 08/04/2015 10:57

The people on my course did recommend driving in 3rd gear in a 30mph zone and I always do that now.

formerbabe · 08/04/2015 10:58

It's that kind of attitude which put me off the course.
I wasn't speeding deliberately, had just inadvertantly crept slightly above limit while trying to work out where I needed to turn in an unfamiliar area.

I would have thought you'd be slowing down if you were looking for a turning in an unfamiliar area?

And I have never heard anyone admit to deliberately speeding.

And the reason why you were speeding is irrelevant IMO... If you cause an accident or hit a pedestrian then the end result is the same.

Hth.

janinlondon · 08/04/2015 10:59

Some insurance companies ask if you have points, and then the next question is have you attended a course. Its the same financial penalty for either.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 08/04/2015 10:59

Thanks guys Flowers

BitOutOfPractice · 08/04/2015 10:59

I think how beneficial it was probably depends on the attitude you went into it with. There were people like you on my course. They probably didn't find it beneficial either because they had made their minds up before it even started and tried their best to ruin it for others

I found it very informative and I can honestly say it has changed my driving for the better

RL20 · 08/04/2015 10:59

I did one when I had not long passed my test a few years ago when I was 19.
I wasn't a racer or anything like that, I drove to a part of the city centre that I hadn't drove through before and with it being a wide road with no houses really close by, I assumed it would be a 40mph zone, turns out it wasn't and I got caught by a camera going over the hill at 36mph.
So I suppose if I had wanted to be really picky I could have tried to argue the whole thing, but I didn't want points on my licence. At the time the fine was £60 with 3 points or £90 for the course. I was only working on an apprenticeship at the time earning £95 a week so it literally took nearly my whole weeks wages away. I don't regret it though and even found it informative, and I was actually one of the youngest there which I was surprised at, the eldest was a man in his 80's!
Even the older people got some questions wrong so I think there is something there for everyone. Mine was the other side of town too so not close by, probably about half an hour away.
If it was similar to mine, you are offered free refreshments too, with breaks throughout the day. I didn't find it a waste of a day really.
Good luck

MaxPepsi · 08/04/2015 11:00

DH has just been on a course. He was doing 38 in a 30. He thought it was 40, I thought it was a 60 so would have been going much faster He accepted it, and found the course very informative, along with the copper who was also on it!

However, after he accepted he was liable (he was driving my car so we had to send all the forms back), we revisited the same place on a further day out and drove down the same road. Turns out he was not speeding after all. The mobile camera unit was not parked up on the 30 stretch of road as we had been advised but on the stretch of road that was 60. Wonder how many other drivers they got that day!

FlabbyMummy · 08/04/2015 11:01

The course is informative and actually helps you manage your speed more effectively thus reducing your risk of getting another speeding ticket.

Do the course!

daisychain01 · 08/04/2015 11:01

Well I know exactly why I speeded and it was the stupid cunt behind me that for the last 20 mins had their fog lights on when it was totally clear. This really distracted me and I bet that stupid bitch doesn't have to attend the course

This is exactly why you need to go on the speed awareness course!

  • anyone with an attitude like you, swearing and white-knuckled, is going to exhibit road rage tendencies. You are behind the wheel of a killer machine.
  • on the course we were given exactly the scenario you give above as being an invalid excuse for speeding. Even if the driver behind is showing aggression, up your bumper, pushing you to go faster, that is never an excuse. We were advised to find a safe place to pull over, let the person overtake and then continue on our journey. Let the other person break the law if they choose.

This is going to be one of those AIBU threads that will only every be the OP making excuses about how they were in the right, they are exception to the rule. Fine, your choice.

As a tax payer I would gladly contribute to having every UK driver go on a speed awareness course, as it gives hard stats about road traffic accidents through speeding. Best £100 I've spent.

RL20 · 08/04/2015 11:01

Also, think yourself lucky that you have been offered the course, if you had been going at a faster speed it'd just be points with no question

SoupDragon · 08/04/2015 11:02

first time I've ever been caught speeding
good drivers like me

You aren't a good driver, you are a lucky one. Whose luck has just run out.

SummerHouse · 08/04/2015 11:03

You're right mummytime I regret my post as I wouldn't want to put anyone off what is potentially a life saving course. I would recommend anyone do it rather than not. Mine was not the best but I have heard great things. We can all raise our game on the roads this is something that might help. I should have put my rant into something practical and given feed back to the road safety partnership.

gallicgirl · 08/04/2015 11:03

Well you haven't helped, have you? Merely pointed out the obvious.

If you look up the thread a couple of people have admitted to speeding.

But that's beside the point. If the course doesn't address those issues then it's not beneficial. Lots of people have said they attended courses which were good. I was making the point that some are useless. Maybe some people on my course found it useful. I didn't.

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