Are Speed Awareness Courses a Scam?

According to a survey by Churchill Motor Insurance, almost a third of people who do speed awareness courses go on to re-offend

I was surprised to read in the Times that almost a third of those who’ve done speed awareness courses go on to re-offend. When I took the course in 2022, I came to jeer but stayed to cheer. I thought it would just be a two-and-a-half hours of the bleedin’ obvious, but in fact I learned a lot, as did the white van man who wasn’t aware he’s not allowed to go over 60mph, even on a motorway.

To this day, I check both sides of a carriageway when I see a speed limit sign, having had it drummed in to me that a pair of signs on either side of you indicates you’re entering a zone with a different speed limit. It signifies the official boundary point. Just one sign, by contrast, is usually a repeater sign, not the start of a new limit. If you’re going above that, you’re already speeding.

I haven’t been given any speeding tickets since and neither has my wife, who did the course last year. But that could be good fortune as much as anything else. Although dummy speed cameras are now rare, some of the 8,000 or so currently in operation in the UK don’t work due to funding cuts or poor maintenance. If I’d received a ticket every time I’ve been flashed, I’d have lost my licence long ago.

Before we write off speed awareness courses as ineffective – 2.23 million people did one last year in England and Wales alone, according to the Times – it’s worth scrutinising the reoffending data. The survey by Churchill Motor Insurance fails to take into account the number of reoffenders who’ve received a ticket for speeding in a 20mph zone and many of them will have been caught out because the new, lower limit has been imposed since they did the course.

Admittedly, those of us who’ve taken it should be more alive to speed limits – and I certainly am. But, by God, it’s easy to be caught out by this absurdly low speed limit. I remember being flashed on the Finchley Road after it became a 20mph zone in 2023 with no notice whatsoever. Happily, I didn’t get a ticket, but I’m sure plenty of other drivers have.

Thirty nine thousand miles of UK roads now have a 20mph speed limit, almost a third of the total – and most of those limits have been imposed in the last three years, meaning they must be a factor in the reoffending data. In September 2023, all roads in built-up areas in Wales became 20mph zones, with 7,700 miles of highways in the devolved nation switching from 30mph to 20mph in one fell swoop. London, meanwhile, is constantly adding more.

Hard not to conclude that the authorities are slipping in these changes under the radar in the hope of catching us out. The Treasury brings in an estimated £300 million a year in speeding fines and local authorities £1.5 billion a year for other road traffic violations, including parking fines.

In light of that, perhaps we needn’t worry that speed awareness courses could be abandoned as a result of the Churchill survey. On the contrary, they might be at greater risk if the data showed they were more effective. As it stands, not only do various public bodies divvy up the ~£100 fee, but a third of attendees can be relied on to keep filling the state’s coffers.

Roll on driverless cars, I say. I can’t wait for the day when I can sit in the back of a Tesla, tapping away on my laptop, while the automated driving system ferries me to QPR away games, fastidiously observing every speed limit. But expect the state to fight the roll out tooth and nail so it can keep milking we poor motorists.