Speed Awareness Schemes

Excess speed, be it over the legal limit or too fast for the conditions, is the largest contributory factor in road crashes. Generally there are only two ways that these offences are detected, by a camera or police officer. Both, taking discretion into account, usually end up with similar penalties.

Speed Awareness Courses, (SAC), for speeding drivers are an option for those falling into certain criteria. The aim of the course is to demonstrate to the drivers what speed is and what it can do, this will in turn improve attitude and behaviour towards excess speed when driving.

As well as having close links with Merseyside Police we also work closely with the Speed Camera Road Safety Partnership. For more information about the Partnership click on the link below :

www.no-excuses.org.uk

Those drivers offered diversionary courses are those that have exceeded posted speed limits set out within ACPO guidelines and the national speed enforcement disposal methods below are recommended.

This guidance does not and cannot replace the Police Officer's discretion. They may decide to issue a fixed penalty notice or summons, for offences committed at speeds lower than those set out below. Please note, a constabulary may decide not to offer a Speed Awareness Course at the speeds set out in the table.

	Speed	ACPO Recommendations
	10%+2 & 10%+4	Caution or SAC if no caution in operation
	10%+2 to 10%+6	SAC

It is appreciated that unlike drivers who attend a Driver Improvement Course, where clients have generally made a mistake, clients attending a Speed Awareness Course may fall into one of three categories which need to be addressed: -

Clients who have made an error.
Clients who have had a lapse in concentration.
Clients who violate the law on a regular basis.

Driving Services provide Speed Awareness Courses on behalf of Norfolk and Hampshire Constabularies and the training resource for Humberside Police.

The aim of the courses is to look at what made the client exceed the posted speed limit and what benefits they perceived in doing so and the dangers associated with doing it.

The job of the trainer is to:

Dispel the myths about saving time through speeding and taking risks.
Highlight stopping distances.
Explore the clients’ attitude towards speed and risk taking.

The course is either theory only for up to 3 hours or a mixture of both theory and practical for up to 6 hours.