The key facts about speed awareness courses<\/h2>\n
If you\u2019re caught speeding, it generally won\u2019t be too long before you know about it. This might be because you\u2019ve got a very angry police officer in front of you, or it might be because you\u2019ve had a letter through the door after being snapped by a speed camera – many of which are designed to capture an image of your face as well as your number plate, so you can be identified conclusively.<\/p>\n
So, a couple of things can happen from here. If you\u2019re speaking to an officer in person, you might be lucky to get off with only a verbal warning. More often, you\u2019ll get a fixed penalty notice (which can be expensive) or the option to attend a speed awareness course.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not free to attend either – there\u2019s a charge to do it. That might sound galling, but that\u2019s why it\u2019s a deterrent! The course itself takes between four to five hours – it\u2019s been compared to an intensive theoretical driving lesson, in which you\u2019re retaught the dangers of exceeding the speed limit.<\/p>\n
Can I choose a speed awareness course instead of getting points my licence?<\/strong><\/p>\n Only if the choice is offered to you! They\u2019re not noted on your licence in the same way as penalty points, but you only get given this option if your speed is within a certain \u2018tolerance\u2019 – in other words, if you were going over the speed limit by only a certain amount.<\/p>\n For some police forces, this tolerance stands at between 10% of the speed limit plus 2mph, to 10% of the limit plus 9mph. In other words, you can only choose a speed awareness course in the following circumstances:<\/p>\n Others have refused to admit to the use of a tolerance at all, suggesting that you may well get stopped unless you\u2019re definitely below the speed limit. As with many things on public roads, it\u2019s better to just not risk it!<\/p>\n Will get an automatic driving ban if I\u2019m doing certain speeds above the limit?<\/strong><\/p>\n Not automatically, per se – most penalties are decided by individual circumstances. But if you\u2019re doing double the speed limit or over 100mph, it\u2019s a pretty safe bet that you\u2019ll have your licence revoked.<\/p>\n Is there a limit to how many times I can take a speed awareness course?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes. You can\u2019t take a speed awareness course more than once within a 3 year timespan. When you go to a speed awareness course, it\u2019s recorded on the databases of the National UK Driver Offender Retraining Scheme. This ensures that you won\u2019t get given the option again within three years of your last attendance. Instead, if you\u2019re caught speeding again within that timeframe, you\u2019ll just be given a fixed penalty notice. More often than not, that means a heavy fine.<\/p>\n There are two types of speed cameras – fixed, and mobile. You probably already know what a fixed speed camera looks like, whether you\u2019ve been caught by one or not – they\u2019re the ones emplaced in strategic locations in various highways across the UK. On the other hand, mobile speed cameras are generally carried by the police and other authorities, using lasers and radar to catch speeding drivers.<\/p>\n Some fixed ones are highlighted by signs leading up to their locations, encouraging drivers to reduce their speed, whereas obviously mobile ones give you no such warning at all – that\u2019s very much the point!<\/p>\n Since October 2016, the majority of speed cameras have now been painted yellow for easier visibility. This was done in response to some drivers making it clear they viewed the use of the cameras as cynical, placed not so much to encourage safety as they were to simply gain revenue for councils through the use of speeding fines. Now the cameras are clearly visible, authorities made it clear in turn that they believe drivers have no excuse to be speeding past them.<\/p>\n Is it possible to drive too quickly for a speed camera to catch you?<\/strong><\/p>\n No. Despite what people sometimes hear from friends of friends, modern speed cameras cannot be outwitted by a car that\u2019s simply going too speedily. In one notable case, a speed camera caught a supercar in Texas doing a speed in excess of 240mph. As we outlined recently, they\u2019re also not fooled<\/a> by drivers changing lanes either.<\/p>\n Some fixed cameras also work in slightly different ways. For example, some will measure your average speed between two separate points. That means driving up slowly for a short distance and then gunning it once you think you\u2019re past them is probably very risky too – aside from the obvious immediate safety implications.<\/p>\n And in case you\u2019re wondering while we\u2019re on the topic – no, you cannot warn another driver about fixed or mobile speed cameras by flashing your lights. If you\u2019re caught doing it, authorities may decide it amounts to obstruction of a police officers, which can obviously carry some quite weighty legal consequences of its own!<\/p>\n There\u2019s an easy way to avoid all that hassle, though – just keep your speed within the appropriate limits! That way, you can avoid any legal worries and any immediate risk of accidentally scrapping your car in a collision.<\/p>\n It\u2019s far less dangerous and stressful just to let it reach the end of its natural lifespan – and when that happens, at Scrap Car Network we\u2019ll be right here to help! You can get an instant online quote<\/a> for your scrap car in just 10 seconds – simply enter a few details into our homepage, and we\u2019ll send you an instant online quote! Couldn\u2019t be easier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s probably not controversial to say that nobody loves speed cameras. At best, most of us regard them as necessary evils to maintain public safety on the roads. At worst, many drivers regard them as cynical cash grabs to ambush drivers and squeeze even more money out of them through fines and fixed penalties. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":3053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n
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<\/p>\nThe facts about speed cameras, in a flash<\/h3>\n