Driver Alertness Course

Has any one attended one of these course so i can assertain whats invoved please,thanks

 

Do you mean ,I think, a driver awareness course? Have you been offered this instead of getting speeding points? I did one a few years ago and overall it was worthwhile. If I recall correctly, it involved being shown a film, with various hazards pointed out, and how to look out for them.Then went out driving while the instructor made comments / criticisms. It made me slow down a bit!

 

Yeah got done in Manchester a few years ago. They offered a two day course with driver assessment, for the £80 in Bolton. I asked if I could do it nearer and they offered me Barnsley, which I took. That turned out to be just half a day and no assessment ? So they were all different, West Yorkshire didn't do it in those days. Some of the stats were very interesting and it made you look at your speed in a different way. The difference in going 20mph faster in arrival times made you realise it was not worth it. Got to say the film was good, and the participation video. We all felt like total criminals when we arrived, everybody was respectable so I suppose the scroates never get caught when they nick a car.

 

Thanks for the responses , this is a one day event from nine till five with lunch thrown in but its a costly one £145 apparently half classroom and a driving section, sounds like a long day and who knows what type of car youll use as its going to effect how your assessed etc , ive had to do worse things but it feels like a loaded dice scenario . and a damm good earner eh .

 

You can take the course anywhere in the country you like. This is so that people don't have to travel back to where the offence took place.

I've known two people do it, and in both cases the cost of the course was the same amount as the fine they would have had to pay. That was the point of it really, as paying more would put people off taking the awareness course.

 

I would say do the course. You may have been driving since Adam still had L plates but a bit of a refresher is useful. Don't worry about the driving part, they are not passing or failing, they will just point out any sloppinesss that has crept in.

 

I got caught a couple of weeks back 34 in a30 zone. Offered course in Huddersfield £90 half day. Driving since 17 for 37 years second time offender both times marginal offence. I am doing the course but I do feel victimised and badly treated. Both offences were in locations with no obvious danger but maximum opportunity for revenue generation. This is not really how this is supposed to be and leaves a bitter taste.

 

That's what its come to nowadays Fastfreddy, revenue collection, its not a matter of safety/speed camera`s for safety, its just yet another way to take money off the motorist........just like most other Acts and Statutes, they are there to generate money. And where does this money go ? to maintain the roads, I doubt that very much.......

Also why do we pay road "Tax" to the DVLA, they don't own the roads, and they also contribute nothing towards the maintenance of the roads, so this is yet another cartel who are extorting money out of the motorist......

 

You were speeding and you got caught, that's just the price you pay. Would you rather they didn't offer you the course and gave you the points, which in the long run would cost you more because of your insurance? I got caught and didn't even get given the option, where as my Dad has been on the course twice, that's what didn't seem fair to me. At the time I needed my licence for work so I'd of jumped at the chance for one of these courses instead of the points, you don't even have to tell your insurance company or employer you've been on one.

 

I attended one of these a while back when I used to be a serial speeder, it was good fun. Don't worry you'll have a blast and come out as a new motorist.

 

Mexico. I cant fault your logic. Yes I was speeding and I admitted the offence but my main point is the speed limit on the stretch of road that I offended against appears illogical. Its a dual carriage way and it was 19.50 in the evening. There were very few cars around and the Police camera van was parked in the middle of the dividing line between the two carrigways with the early evening sun behind him. I never saw the van because of the sun in my eyes until I was past it. Now I think that is a deliberate policy and I have written to the chief constable for west yorkshire to ask exactly what the thinking is at this location and times. I gahter this point has been raised by others. I have also checked the accident statistics for this piece of road and there has been no fatalities at that point for 8 years. The road has multiple sets of traffic lights and normally it is very very congested at usual traffic times.

I am not saying I am in the right. As I said I was breaking the law but the problem is in this country like so many other things you are treated like s**t when it comes to challenging the absolute right of the authorities to do what the hell they like without challenge or question.

I would be the first to accept that speeding kills people...so why not have the cameras and the speed traps where this is problem...they dont do they so my point about revenue raising is made and supported by the various motoring organisations.

A few years back when the Police were told that they could no longer keep the money raised from camera fines they lost the appetite for it and many many camera sites were not live and had no film in them. This is not so much an issue now with the new generation digital cameras that require virtually no human intervention and so much more efficient at raising money.

Incidentally the offence for 1 or 2 mph over the limit at which it would have been ignored was £100 and 3 points. The course is £90 and a half day off work. At my hourly rate thats much more than the court fine. And three points dont affect your insurance actually. 6 points onwards definately does and young drivers are penalised more for obvious reasons.

 

Yes, I went on one in Manchester recently (I was caught doing 48 in a 40 limit area).
I found the course quite interesting and informative, although it takes half-a-day out of your schedule. The most important thing I learnt was to be more circumspect (I didn't see the revenue camera when I was caught)!
On reflection, I think this course should be mandatory for all BMW owners when they first buy their cars!

 

Ah right I see your point, and I know insurance companies aren't bothered by three points, but I like to have that buffer zone, because once you have three it's like someone's holding a (speed)gun to your head every time you drive. With the amount of pointless cameras and traps on the road it's more like when, rather than if you get the caught.

 

Anyways its a great discussion but we arn't going to put the world to right on this one. Too much money at stake.

What do you think about road humps bumps and platforms.......the car destroyers

 

I don't think the road Humps and Bumps serve any useful purpose apart from damaging cars........idiot drivers who care nothing about either life or their cars will fly over them at great speeds, while the careful driver will slow down......therefor defeating the object really.

 

I agree about 'sleeping policemen'. As with real policemen, idiot drivers tend to ignore them too!
You may think this, my opinion, strange considering what we have been discussing, but I think that speed (revenue!) cameras are a more effective strategy.
Yes, anyone can make the occasional mistake (as I did) and that would, quite correctly, result in the 'easy option' of a speed awareness course. But for those who drive like lunatics, exceeding the speed limit by dangerous levels, and those who continue to do it time and time again, there should be much more severe punishments - and none of those 'suspended sentences' or 'community service orders' or whatever they're called and which they usually ignore anyway. After all, someone could easily be killed.

 

Here in the U.S.,at least in my State we have a prog." 55 Arrive Alive." It is very inexpensive, about 10-15 dollars for the 6 hr course. Most auto Ins. Companies provide a small reduction on your premium if you take the course every 3 years. I'm always astounded when I hear some of the questions asked by some of my fellow senior citizens.:icon_rolleyes: I fully support the program because most of us tend to forget or ignore the laws.

 

Really good point Rover. At 10-15 dollars that sounds like its done for the right reasons i,e to educate. Here of course we pay through the nose for everything in addition to one of the highest tax regimes in the world.

My course is 4 hours with and apparrantly there are 12 people on it. The course is provided by Kirklees council and its held in a council building. The tutor is an ex driving instructor paid at £20 per hour. So for 4 hours thats £80. However the course raises £1080 so you do the maths on this. Thats a hefty profit but of course they tell you that the fees cover the costs of putting on the course. Its absolute total rubbish and lies.

 

Revenue collection Fastfreddy, that's all it is, road safety has very little to do with it........:icon_sad:

 

One thing that puzzles me is that, despite our national maximum speed limit being 70 mph, many if not most cars can easily exceed that.
So why are not ALL cars sold for use on UK roads fitted with a speed limiter?
Of course, I realise that would not be the answer for drivers exceeding lesser speed limits, although it is technically possible to include a radio receiver that could react to short-range transmissions on slower roads to reduce the maximum speed further.
I suppose that one argument against the idea would be that "I'm going over to Germany where I'm allowed to drive at any speed on most autobahns".