Three points or new thinking about speeding?

26 July 2006

Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police Service, are introducing speed awareness workshops for some speeding offenders as part of a long term educational strategy in a bid to influence driving behaviour.

This new initiative is part of the London Safety Camera Partnership’s (LSCP) enforcement campaign targeting those who speed and make London’s roads unsafe.

Some people issued with a penalty for speeding at a set amount over the speed limit will be offered the opportunity to take a speed awareness workshop instead of receiving a fixed penalty fine and penalty points on their driving licences. The workshop will cost £72 and last two and a half hours.

The workshops aim to change drivers’ attitudes to excessive and inappropriate speeds by informing them of the impact that speed can have in a collision. TfL has overseen a 45 per cent reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured compared with the average during the mid to late 1990’s.

The courses will be offered at five sites in London with the first opening in Islington and with the first course taking place on 7 August.

Chris Lines, Head of the London Road Safety Unit, Transport for London, said:
“Speed awareness workshops are a big step forward in the way we deal with road safety in the capital. Education plays a vital role in changing driver’s attitude towards excessive speed. Most of us don’t break the speed limit deliberately but few of us truly appreciate the real and potential dangers of driving even a few miles an hour above the speed limit. These workshops will help to change people’s attitudes to speeding.”

“In areas where these workshops have already been introduced 90 per cent of people who attended said they intended to driver slower or much slower following the course.”

Commander Shabir Hussain Head of Met’s Traffic and Transport Unit said “Speeding kills and has a lasting impact on families who are left behind. Driving even just a few miles an hour over the legal limit can result in death or serious injury. This initiative is paving the way forward and gives the enforcement agencies another tool in which to combat those who speed on London’s roads.

“Whilst penalty points are still valid it is the belief of the partnership that education can improve road safety for everyone. We look forward to measuring the effectiveness of these speed awareness workshops and hope that they that will have a significant impact on casualty reduction and making London’s roads safer.”

The courses in London will be delivered by DriveTech (UK) utilising training methodology developed for existing schemes in Thames Valley and Northumbria.

Research conducted by leading driving psychologist Dr Frank McKenna indicates that over 90% of course attendees intend to drive ‘slower or much slower’ after the course and that the perceived legitimacy of police enforcement was significantly increased. For example, 39% of drivers challenged the legitimacy of enforcement in their personal case before the course, a figure which dropped to 10.5% afterwards.

Graham Goodwin
Chief Press Officer - Surface Transport
Email: grahamgoodwin@tfl.gov.uk
Direct line: 0845 604 4141

David Richards
Marketing Director - DriveTech(UK)Limited
Email: david.richards@drivetech.co.uk
Direct line: 01344 467271