What to expect on your speed awareness course

Driving at an unsafe pace is responsible for more than a tenth of all injury collisions recorded to the police, according to data from the Department of Transport.

Taking a speed awareness course helps to lessen the likelihood of you speeding in the future and educate you on how to identify the consequences and dangers of speeding. 

What is a speed awareness course?

Speed limits are part of the Highway code and rules of the road, break these and you may be offered a speed awareness course instead of having a hefty £100 fine or points on your licence. 

Usually a speed awareness course is just offered to first time offenders though, or for those who have strayed ever so slightly over the designated speed limit. But keep in mind, you can only take the course once every three years, as it’s designed to stop you from becoming a repeat offender.

When would I be offered a speed awareness course? 

If you have been caught speeding, whether that be from a speeding camera or a mobile police check, you’ll usually receive a letter in the post within 14 days and you’ll typically be able to choose from three options: 

1)Paying the fine and accepting the penalty points
2)Go to court to appeal
3)Taking a speed awareness course with a slightly reduced fine and no penalty points

(Remember-Every time you're caught speeding, three points can be added to your drivers licence. If you get 12 or more within three years, you could be disqualified from driving. Within the first two years of you passing your driving test, you'd only need to get six points to be disqualified.)

Typically, they give you 14 days to respond or the offer is automatically declined and you instantly get three points on your licence and be charged a fine, unless of course you’re told to go to court instead.

The speed awareness course, however, will not be available to everyone. You are only eligible if the following conditions are met:

• You've been offered it by the police.

• It's your first speeding offence or first in the last three years that you've been caught speeding.

• At the time of the speeding offence, you had not committed any other offences.

• It's within the course's speed limitations, which are between 10% of the posted speed plus 2mph and 10% plus 9mph.

How to book your speed awareness course

You go online to book a course once you've accepted the offer. The official website of the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme can help you find a local course provider.

Courses can take place throughout the week, or on evenings or weekends and there are even courses offered online now due to the Coronavirus pandemic. You must stay for the entire course; once you've finished, the course provider will notify the police that you've attended and you won't face any additional consequences.

What will my speed awareness course consist of?

The session usually lasts for half a day, no more than four to five hours, and is more of a theoretical lesson than practical. So you won’t be having to get in a car and drive around. Typically, there will be a group of you, usually about a dozen, in which you’ll focus on the following subjects:

• Consequences of speeding

• Attitudes and behaviours around speeding 

• The benefits of speed limits

• Driver skill and knowledge

• Stopping distances for how fast you’re going

• Defensive driving (teaches drivers safe practices to avoid dangers)

• Impact of speeding on other drivers

• Awareness of hazards, obstacles and dangers

• How to stay safe despite the other actions of other drivers and road conditions
   

There’s no exam to pass, but they expect you to participate in group discussions and understand and consider why you were speeding rather than punish you with a fine or points on your licence. 

What do I need to take with me?

You'll need to bring one of the following items on the day:

• A photocard driver's licence OR a paper driver's licence plus photographic identification, such as your passport

• If you don't have your driver's licence, you may be allowed to produce two kinds of identification. However, because rules may vary at each centre, it's essential to double-check with them.

What is the price of the speed awareness course?

Because the courses are run by different companies, the prices can vary. A speed awareness training will usually set you back between £80 and £100. A fixed penalty notice for speeding typically costs roughly £100, plus the points on your driver's licence.