Speed awareness course

If you are caught speeding, the consequences are usually a £60 fine and 3 penalty points issued on your licence. As a result of this conviction, you will need to let your insurance provider know so they can update their records. This means that the insurance provider can refuse to insure you or increase the insurance premiums to be able to provide coverage for you. This is not illegal and in most cases this is what is likely to happen. Having been caught speeding can also affect job applications and home insurance as they will also ask if you have ever been convicted of any crime. So remember before you jump that red light or think it's ok to do 40mph in a 30mph zone. Think twice!

Second chance after speeding
If it is your first offence and the officer takes pity on you, then you may be in luck. Sometimes you may be offered to take a speed awareness course instead of paying a fine and receiving penalty points. Of course you will have to pay £60-£100 but this will save you more on car insurance and any other policies that may be affected by a conviction. You can only take one speed awareness course in three years, so if you re-offend there won’t be another way out and you will have to pay the fine and receive the points on your licence.

Speed awareness course details
If you are given the chance to take a speed awareness course, then go for it as you would’ve gotten off easily. You will be given a letter with the location and time of the course. The course is run all over the country so you are most likely to have one in your area. The course is usually 6 hours spread over a few days sometimes in weekly 2 hour sessions for 3 weeks; some of them are held on the weekend so you may not have to take time off work to attend.

It is a common misconception in thinking only young and just recently qualified drivers will attend this course as many are regular working class people such as teachers, paramedics, office workers and so forth. The most common reason for being caught is speeding up when the lights turn green but not actually making it through. Cameras are usually present at the worst offending traffic lights to catch motorists. In other cases, police patrol cars catch drivers driving over the speed limit by only a few miles or so. In this case, severe punishment is not really necessary so there is a chance to redeem them by attending the speed awareness course.