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Three months after the launch of the Speed Awareness Scheme by Thames Valley Police, 2,000 drivers a month are opting for education instead of punishment by attending a course run by driver training company DriveTech (UK), which has a three-year contract with a one-year extension to run the scheme. The initiative is believed to be one of the largest driver training programmes ever launched in the UK and the first to include higher speed drivers. Thames Valley Police is one of only a handful of forces offering training courses instead of a fine and points on a driving licence – Lancashire, Staffordshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire are the others. Demand for the scheme was revealed as a survey by the RAC Foundation and motoring magazine Autocar claimed that Britain’s motorists were becoming desensitised to speeding convictions because of the massive growth in speed cameras. With one in six drivers having points on their licence, compared to one in 10 five years ago, the survey suggests that there is no longer a stigma attached to being caught speeding. As a result, the RAC Foundation and Autocar have called for better driver education instead of penalties with the launch of the “Talking Sense on Speed Campaign”. The campaign is aimed at encouraging the government to encourage more police forces to offer driving courses instead of points. RAC Foundation executive director Edmund King says: “Rather than sending out millions of fixed penalty notices, we would like to see motorists being given a choice to retrain. Surely the objective of cameras should be to educate people to become safer drivers, rather than fine them and get them off the road?” With 4,500 speed cameras across the UK and the number of speeding offences recorded in Britain approaching the two million mark annually – in 1995 the figure was 690,000 – 56% of the 1,000 drivers surveyed supported the idea of courses instead of fines and points for speeding offenders. The Thames Valley Police courses are designed to improve driving skills, attitude, and behaviour, in order to enhance the safety of motorists and other road users. The courses aim to identify what driver behaviour made the individual exceed the posted speed limit, what benefits they perceived in doing so, and the dangers associated with speeding. Thames Valley Police Deputy Chief Constable Sara Thornton says: “This scheme aims to educate motorists who speed, rather than punish them. We have been exploring various approaches over the past few years and the evaluations have been encouraging. We have introduced this scheme across the Thames Valley and are very hopeful that it will make an impact on the unacceptably high level of road casualties that occur every year.” Since the end of July, motorists caught speeding in the Thames Valley region have been considered for one of two courses depending on the severity of the offence. Of those speeders offered a course, there has been a 92% take-up. Course one is a workshop for speeders recorded marginally over the speed limit in a 30-mph zone. This may be extended to other speed limits depending on demand. Instead of a £60 fixed penalty fine and three points on their licence, a three-hour interactive course at a cost of £65 is offered. Course two is for those speeding excessively over the limit, which would place them outside the fixed penalty bracket and liable for a court summons, a fine of up to £1,000, and the possibility of a driving ban or six penalty points. Instead, a four-hour interactive course is offered, including a two-hour on-the-road practical session with a trainer, at the cost of £85. A £60 fine and three penalty points would also be incurred. In both cases, there is no guarantee that drivers will be given the option of attending the courses. There are a number of criteria that need to be met, including that the driver has not attended a course within the last three years. In extreme cases of excessive speed, motorists will be given no alternative but to go to court. Through the interactive classroom sessions and a practical driving session as part of course two, drivers are encouraged to alter their attitudes towards speeding, based on driving psychology, behaviour and profiles. Trainers aim to dispel the myths about saving time through speeding and taking risks. They highlight stopping distances, explore the driver’s attitude towards speed and risk taking, investigate the anatomy and consequences of a crash, discuss crash statistics, and will encourage discussion amongst course delegates. Ultimately, the courses aim to encourage drivers to use speed safely, and encourage all road users to use speed safely within the maximum limits at all times. Insp Malcolm Collis, Head of Specialist Units, Thames Valley Roads Policing, says: “Although it’s still early days, the feedback from clients is very positive and the take up rate for both the low and high speed courses is amazingly high. Until we can fully evaluate the longterm effects on driver behaviour, we can’t say if this is the way forward, but I suspect it is. I see it as education in action, which complements the enforcement strategy we have at the Roads Policing department. "The apparent social acceptance of driving at speed by some road users must be challenged to prevent and hopefully reduce the number of deaths on our roads. We can begin to do this through educating people who persist in driving at excessive speeds. “We hope to reduce the likelihood that motorists will be involved in speeding collisions in the future by sending thousands of people on these courses. “Pilot studies of the new courses around the country have shown that people who have attended such courses are less likely to re-offend.” Speed is the single biggest cause of road traffic collisions. On average, 150 people are killed on the roads of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire every year. Many of these deaths, say the police, could have been avoided if drivers had not been speeding. The aim of both courses is to improve driving skills, attitudes, and behaviour of drivers and motorcyclists, and ultimately to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the roads. Road accidents as a consequence of speeding are the cause of untold misery, expense and loss and, as such, are a significant area of concern in terms of public safety. Chris Howell, founder of DriveTech (UK), which is a member of the Fleetsafe Group of companies, says: “The motivation for people to attend the courses is, in the case of low speeders, not to have three points on their licence, while for high-speed offenders the motivation is to keep penalties to a minimum. “While attendees are very apprehensive at the start of their course the feedback afterwards is extremely positive. Faced with a £60 fine and three points on their driving licence or the alternative of £65 for the workshop course, some people tell us it is the best £5 they have spent.” The Lancashire course, which has won a Prince Michael Road Safety Award, started in 2001 and involves a mix of classroom and on-the-road tuition. Last year, 8,690 drivers completed the two-hour theory and threeto four-hour course, thereby avoiding a £60 fine and three points on their licence. By September this year, almost 15,000 drivers had been on the £85 course, which is only offered to motorists caught driving at 35mph in a 30mph limit. An academic evaluation of the Lancashire course by Steve Stradling at Napier University and Michelle Meadows at Staffordshire University showed that it does impact on road safety.
A spokesperson for the Lancashire County Council Road Safety Group which runs the course on behalf of the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety – clients are referred by Lancashire Police – says: “The real success of these courses lies in the way in which people have their attitudes challenged and by the end of the day make their own decision to change their behaviour. There are now thousands of people on the roads who have benefited from this tailor-made, innovative training course. People seem to really respond well to the practical driving assessment and the feedback about the course overall has been positive – with many people saying that adult driver re-training should be part of everyone's life at some point.” |
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