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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 13:34

Theoretician

All types of roads have set speed limits depending on the carriageway, lighting, surroundings, central reservation etc etc.

The speed limit also varies depending on what kind of vehicle you are driving

Look it up. You should know it - but to be fair before the course I didn't and neither did any of the "excellent drivers" on the course either

There's a link here

BitOutOfPractice · 08/04/2015 13:36

Sorry, meant to add that if there are no signs, or you are unsure, you should assume 30mph speed limit

Steppeoneggs · 08/04/2015 13:36

but BitOut - the standard speed limits are 30, 60 and 70 and any other limit is signposted, so the pp is saying, how do you know it is 50?

The carriageway, lighting, surroundings etc will give you 30, 60 or 70, none of them will give you 50, because 50 is a limit which has to be specifically signposted.

Between · 08/04/2015 13:39

sPJPPp. I've started to look forward to your posts. it sounds like a lot of things irritate you and make you angry.

If you've done 40K miles a year for the last 15 years then I actually think it's pretty good that you have only got one speeding ticket. I think it's surprisingly easy to accidentally speed. I've only had one speeding ticket in my 32 years of driving and I've never had an accident - which isn't bad. I only do about 15k miles a year though.

Im a bit suprised you didn't think to pull over and let the driver behind overtake you. 20 minutes is a long to have someone's fog lights blinding you. I always try and let tailgate'ers go by as I don't won't to risk them killing me. I'd suggest you do the same - it makes for a calmer drive.

I found the speed awareness course useful. I think it depends on your attitude. From what I have heard from friends they is always one bolshy git in the room.

LauraMipsum · 08/04/2015 13:51

I think you should go with your first instinct and turn it down OP. After all, if you were driving downhill with a cunt behind you and there weren't enough signs then it can hardly be your fault that you were speeding, can it?

Take this gross miscarriage of justice to the magistrates. They simply love to hear from people who are butthurt about being caught committing an offence. If possible, make sure that you

  • bring diagrams of the road in triplicate and talk the magistrates through where the signs were, in plenty of detail;
  • use the phrase "this once great country;"
  • Point out that the silly bitch / cunt behind you had their foglights on (the mags don't mind a bit of bad language, it enlivens their day);
  • remind them that you are a really good driver

They may feel constrained to give you an enormous fine and make you pay the costs but that is undoubtedly due to political pressure as a result of the War on Motorists (TM) which everyone knows is definitely happening. Should you be faced with this, courage, mon ami, appeal on to the Crown Court and repeat the same arguments.

I can see your victory now.

Original poster
sPJPPp · 08/04/2015 13:52

Snotty I've had a public facing job, I'm well aware of the "average person"..

I'm not angry, but I'm hardly pleased to receive this in the post.

OP posts:
Snottybiyatch · 08/04/2015 13:53

There were two bolshy gits on mine Between and it was most entertaining because they spent a lot of time trying to trip the instructors up, and didn't manage it once!

Original poster
sPJPPp · 08/04/2015 13:55

Oh Laura don't worry hun, I will be dressing up for this course as soon as I tell the instructors about the fog light I'm sure they will apologise and send me on my way with some petrol money and I won't have to spend the day mixing with the great unwashed Grin

OP posts:
NCIS · 08/04/2015 13:59

I was done for doing 34mph in a 30 going down hill at 5.00am and did a speed awareness course. I am used to driving down that road above the speed limit totally legally and had just got into work mode 30 minutes early BUT that was totally my fault and there was no excuse for my lapse in concentration and awareness.
The speed awareness course was very good and reminded me of lots of things that I had got sloppy over. I've just done my rapid response training and that was equally a good refresher for 'normal' driving. I don't believe additional training can ever be a waste of time when driving is probably the most dangerous thing your average person ever does.

Every single driver that ever got behind a wheel makes mistakes but that isn't an excuse.

Snottybiyatch · 08/04/2015 13:59

Why have you put average person in inverted commas OP? It's not a term I used (apologies if you're quoting someone else) I used the term fellow citizen. What is an average person? You do know don't you, for example, that the 'average' number of legs a person has is rather less than two, so 'average' doesn't really define much here!

That said, of course you're going to be pissed off to get the notification in the post. I know I was, but I generally took the view that it was a fair cop, I'd been caught bang to rights etc etc: it didn't occur to me to go public about it far less blame it on the fact that there were too many/too few other drivers on the road, that it was too light/ too dark etc etc.

richthegreatcornholio · 08/04/2015 14:01

And I have never heard anyone admit to deliberately speeding

Really? I admit that I speed quite deliberately.

DragonWithAGirlTattoo · 08/04/2015 14:21

was it

however it was an empty a road at night,

or

behind me that for the last 20 mins had their fog lights on

because i'm a bit confused.... Confused Confused Confused

spanieleyes · 08/04/2015 14:31

Having just Blush come back from a speed awareness course, I would suggest you give it a go, you might actually learn something useful-like that the only person to blame when caught speeding is yourself!

Anniegetyourgun · 08/04/2015 14:33

rich - I'm not at all surprised.

BackforGood · 08/04/2015 15:06

Not only do all your posts indicate you are exactly the person who needs to do the course - the whole 'blame everyone / everything else' thing is classic. Everyone starts the morning believing they shouldn't be there / the road wasn't well signed / it wasn't their fault / etc.,etc., but the course is excellent and you learn a lot.

But you're maths is very doubtful. It will put your insurance up WAY more than £40 with speeding points on your license, and they will be asked about for insurance purposes for 5 years, not just one year.
I'm also very surprised you have to travel so far - when I did mine, there were several different centres within half an hour-40mins I could have chosen from.

daisychain01 · 08/04/2015 15:23

I agree backforGood, I was able to select a centre that I could easily reach from work (so only lost half a day's leave) and they gave a choice of times at the different centres as well.

Please sP, go along with an open mind, otherwise your £94 will be wasted. You'll find out things will stick in your mind. I didn't appreciate that the safest place to travel is on a motorway (statistically fewer casualties, trouble is the accidents themselves are more horrendous due to the speed and number of cars in a pile-up), and drivers have more accidents within a couple of miles from their home (they think "I won't have an accident, I know this route so well" ..... Wrong!!!).

EBearhug · 08/04/2015 15:29

It's a shame some people have had bad experiences of the course - but it's like any other, and a lot will depend on who is leading it. Mine was well organised, with a number of different sections, interactive sections with audience participation, and tea/loo breaks.

They want you to learn from it - there's no point just lecturing for 4 hours - it would be hard on the people running it, and it would be ineffective as a way of people learning. It's about education more than punishment, because the stats on people who reoffend with speeding in the 3 years after doing the course are lower than those who don't do the course. If it weren't cost-effective in some way to run it, they wouldn't be doing it, but would only collect fines and issue points.

EBearhug · 08/04/2015 15:29

*like any other course

Twoplus3 · 08/04/2015 15:40

I got pulled speeding two years ago, was doing 37 in a 30. They offered me the course but I refused and surprisingly enough my insurance last year and this year has gone down! I wouldn't bother doing it and just pay the fine.

frankie001 · 08/04/2015 15:41

Just tried the driving in third gear tip. Really useful, as I know my speed can creep above 30 in fourth.

Nanny0gg · 08/04/2015 15:46

I don't think anyone can really concentrate for 4 hours, your kidding yourself!
It does just seem like a punishment for adults, make them bored out of their brains for hours. Still I guess I should reserve judgement.
I'm a bit hmm at the people that find it interesting. Then again millions watch shit on TV.

Get over yourself.

QuizteamBleakley · 08/04/2015 16:14

You can't concentrate for long yet claim to drive tens of thousands of miles a year? Shock

BackforGood · 08/04/2015 16:21

I have to say, I came away from mine almost evangelical Grin

I think everybody should do a course like this within 6 months of passing their test, and then as a refresh every 10 years or so. It has certainly made me think twice in some situations, and I I suppose like most people consider myself to be a pretty good driver (I have almost 30 yrs NCD, and no previous points, to back that up)

I have to say, it was quite scary how many wrong answers there were to lots and lots of the questions on the course. I passed my test over 30 years ago, and had assumed that people who had passed more recently would be much clearer on the "theory" side than those of us who haven't studied the Highway Code for decades, but it wasn't the case - and my course included about 6 'professional drivers' too (van, lorry, taxi). Quite worrying really.
I don't think anyone left the room not having learned anything though, however good we all thought we were.

BucketFullOfDinosaurs · 08/04/2015 16:26

There are a few people I'd like to sign up to this course... I think I'm an ok driver, I have pretty good awareness and anticipation, and I generally don't speed, but I'd be interested in what it's all about. And I could definitely take a few people along with me...

Nanny0gg · 08/04/2015 16:28

What BackforGood said.

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