With the escalating number of speed detection devices on Britain’s roads these days the chance of a motorist being captured on camera committing a speeding offence is relatively high.
Speeding is the most committed road traffic offence
According to recent surveys speeding is the most often committed road traffic offence by motorists. Indeed Confused.com published information online that stated that between 10 December 2013 and 10 January 2014 one of the most common convictions declared by motorists was an SP30 driving endorsement.
It is certainly easy to understand why speeding offences have become the most often committed road traffic offence – particularly given how we inhabit a world where time is scarce and where demands on our time are ever increasing.
Accepting a fixed penalty
On most occasions, a motorist who has exceeded the permitted speed limit will be inclined to simply accept a fixed penalty if it is offered as it is more time and cost effective to taking the matter to Court and having their case heard before the Magistrates. Indeed this is often the case irrespective of whether or not the speeding offence that brought about the fixed penalty has actually been committed.
As a fixed penalty offer is restricted to 3 penalty points it is often safer to accept a fixed penalty notice where the speed recorded is on the cusp of, or is housed within, a higher sentencing bracket. Motorists, who are risk averse, in circumstances like this more often than not choose to accept the fixed penalty rather than risk incurring 4, 5 or 6 penalty points by taking the matter to Court. Indeed I have been asked to advise motorists in many cases where they have been offered fixed penalties at the roadside in cases where the speed has exceeded the usual fixed penalty speed threshold. In most of these cases when questioning the individual seeking advice they have told me that either they were not speeding or that, whilst they were speeding, it was not at the speed recorded. In either scenario the reading of speed is more often than not disputed by the client. This has always led me to wonder whether the police know that they have used their detection device incorrectly and that the reading of speed obtained is therefore questionable and whether they are rather hoping that if they wave the tempting fixed penalty offer in front of the motorist they will accept it and not challenge their case thereby exposing an officer’s mistake.
I understand why motorists would wish to accept a fixed penalty. However, this is something that should be carefully considered because 4 or fewer speeding incursions or fixed penalties could result in the loss of your driving licence for which there are serious consequences to most people. Unfortunately disqualification can curtail someone’s employment, affect their family relationships, cause marital disharmony, affect others reliant on their ability to drive and inhibit someone’s independence leading to isolation. It is therefore important to carefully consider your options before deciding whether or not to accept a fixed penalty notice.
The speed awareness course
As an alternative to a fixed penalty a motorist may be offered a driver education course – the speed awareness course in speeding cases – by the Safety Camera Partnership. This enables the police to offer low-end speeding motorists the chance of attending a driver re-education course as an alternative to both a fixed penalty notice and Court summons.
This is a far more attractive option than the fixed penalty notice as no penalty points are incurred and the cost is often cheaper than the £100 fixed penalty. The course fee varies from geographical region and is payable prior to attending.
The take up rate of such courses rather unsurprisingly was high with 953,428 motorists accepting and attending a speed awareness course last year. This was almost double the 2010 figure of 500,000 motorists taking up such a course.
The National Speed Awareness Scheme is run throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland by a selection of training providers. From 2013 those wishing to attend the speed awareness course have been able to select any provider (excluding Dorset and Wiltshire) within the national scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This means that someone is not unfairly hampered or prejudiced by geographical boundaries in the event that an offence is committed whilst a someone is visiting Manchester, for example, from London. An individual is therefore able to attend a speed awareness course in their locality if offered a referral to such a course.
The course is interactive in style and is delivered via a combination of group discussion/participation and listening to information. It is akin to a Highway-Code refresher and participants are encouraged to share their views and experiences. Clients or people I know who have attended such courses have generally reported back positive feedback to me about the course, the topics covered and its focus. Most have reported that it was a worthwhile investment not just from the penalty point free benefit but also from a driver education point of view.
The aim of the course is to improve the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of those attending a course thereby reducing the likelihood of a motorist being involved in a future speeding offence. In doing so the course addresses what caused an attendee to exceed the permitted speed limit, what their reasons were for doing so and the impact and consequences of their speeding. This focus is specific to the person attending the course and general further topics which can also be covered by the course, include the following:
- The benefits of complying with speed limits
- Attitudes toward speed
- Attitudes surrounding misuse of speed
- The consequences of speeding
- Knowledge and skills
- How to identify the speed limit for any road in England and Wales
- Stopping distances and a simple technique to ensure that drivers leave sufficient gap between their vehicle and a vehicle in front
- The consequences of a collision and why small increases in speed can make significant differences in the event of an emergency situation
- Hazard perception and how road markings provide advance warning of hazards
- Awareness of dangers and safety issues faced by all road users
- Personal responsibility
- What difference does your driving speed make?
- Impact of your behaviour on other road users
The speed awareness course usually takes 4 hours to complete. Whilst there is no exam or test attendees need to pay attention in order to pass the course and therefore derive its point free benefits.
After attending and successfully completing the course no further action will be taken by police in relation to the speed incursion. Details of the course completion are recorded and held on a national database, which can be checked in the event of someone committing a further speeding incursion to avoid another speed awareness course referral. This is because a second course will not be offered in lieu of a fixed penalty or Court summons to a speeding motorist, falling under the same criteria, within 3 years of the original speeding offence taking place.
If a motorist agrees to attend a speed awareness course but does not attend, does not complete it within 4 months from the date of offence, attends the course late or does not complete the course successfully the offence is referred to the Crown Prosecution Service and a summons would follow, which would have to be issued within 6 months and 1 day of the offence having taken place. In this scenario the matter would fall to be dealt with by the Magistrates Court local to where the offence took place.
Potential financial consequences of attending a speed awareness course
Whilst the speed awareness course is an attractive option with the added benefit of re-educating motorists in driver safety, which can only be a good thing, accepting a referral to the course can have unexpected financial implications to a motorist over and above the course fee.
For example, attending a speed awareness course can result in your insurer increasing your premium as a result. This may seem unfair as accepting a speed awareness course referral does not amount to a conviction and is something that the DVLA would not ask you if you were to contact them in order to discuss your driving licence. However, I have heard from clients of insurance policies increasing by as much as £200 as a result of a motorist attending such a course. This meets with shock and frustration in most instances as the majority do not foresee that attending a course will bring about a premium increase.
So what are the options of those affected by such a scenario?
Failing to inform your insurer if specifically asked is clearly not an option as, were one to do so, one could risk indemnity difficulties in the event of an accident occurring. This is because the insurer could argue that the motorist had either failed to notify of material changes or, worse, that the motorist had misrepresented, or lied to, their insurer for example. My advice to clients is therefore that, as infuriating a policy increase is it is, it is necessary to notify your insurer about any courses you have attended if asked directly about having attended a retraining course offered by the police. In light of The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, which came into force on 6 April 2013 motorists are now not obliged to disclose information which might be relevant, if it has not been requested. Therefore, in accordance with this Act, the obligation to disclose such information only comes about once asked.
The cost of penalty points
In relation to penalty points being incurred or a fixed penalty notice being accepted a motorist is required to notify their insurer immediately of this if it is an express term in their policy of insurance. Failure to do so could result in an insurance company refusing to indemnify or honour a policy of insurance in the event of an accident or incident. The pervious duty of utmost good faith, which gave motorists an ongoing duty to notify their insurer of any material changes during the currency of their period of cover, has been removed by The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 as mentioned before. However, as an insurer relies on an insured person to keep them appraised of any changes during the course of the policy many insurers will include a change of circumstances clause within their terms and conditions. Such a clause would require an insured individual to notify of any fixed penalty notices or penalty point endorsements during the currency of a policy whether or not asked directly.
Unfortunately, incurring penalty points can have a financial impact on someone’s insurance premium and will, more often than not, result in an increase. The rate of increase will depend on the offence and the number of penalty points imposed for the offence in question. It is also worth bearing in mind that, whilst penalty points remain on your driving licence for 4 years from the date of offence (and count for 3 years), an insurance company will take them into account for 5 years.
Typically a 3 penalty point speeding endorsement can result in an increase in a motor insurance premium following conviction of 34% whilst a 3 penalty point traffic light contravention conviction, for example, could increase a policy premium by 24%.
The cost of a motoring conviction will, of course, vary from insurer to insurer and will take into account specific variables dependant on each individual driver such as the vehicle insured, where the insured lives, their age, their driving history and their annual mileage etc.
The decision to increase a premium is bound to be greeted unfavourably by an insured motorist and is, of course, a matter for someone’s insurance company to determine. However, an individual aggrieved by the level of increase, or the decision to increase, can lodge a formal complaint with the insurer asking that this increase or decision to increase is revisited. Furthermore, in the event that the matter is not resolved to an insured’s satisfaction, it is always open for them to take that complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service for an independent determination, which an insurer will be keen to avoid as far as is possible due to the inevitable time and cost implications that referring a matter would incur.
For specialist legal advice in this regard and for legal advice regarding all motoring offences please contact Julie Robertson on 0161 819 7221 or julie.robertson@bootes.co.uk Twitter @DriverSolicitor. The initial call is always free!
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