The National Speed Awareness Scheme

Speed, or the inappropriate use of speed, is a factor in a significant percentage of road traffic incidents. The greater the speed involved the more serious the incident is likely to be. It is estimated that excessive or inappropriate speed is a contributory factor in the majority of vehicle collisions.

The National Speed Awareness Scheme has been born out of the success of the National Driver Improvement Scheme (NDIS). The fundamental point of any course is that education, as an alternative to prosecution must be based on a driver’s mistake, rather than a reckless or intentional act, with the objective that the offender benefits from the course and from thereon ultimately contributing to road and community safety, with potential environmental benefits also.

It is in the same vein that the Speed Awareness Courses are to be run involving low-end speed offenders. Safety Camera Partnerships cannot operate Speed Awareness Courses alone. They must be for individual Chief Constables to run within these guidelines published by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

The Speed Awareness Scheme finds its legal authority in the discretion entrusted to the police, who decide whether to instigate proceedings for offences. The Scheme is not intended to usurp the Courts’ authority, but is intended to broach drivers’ attitude and behaviour towards inappropriate driving speeds, which in turn leads to a reduction in re-offending and ultimately contributes towards road safety and a better quality of life.

The Department for Transport sponsored a significant research project into the methodology of re-educating speeding motorists. This culminated in the publication of the DfT’s report No 66 of 2006 entitled ‘Effective Interventions for Speeding Motorists’.

ANDISP has developed and own the current course and all courses are run to the ANDISP corporate model. The courses themselves are run by local authority road safety departments and by private companies, who are contracted or appointed as service providers for their respective police authorities.

The course is an alternative to prosecution, for all speed bands and classes of vehicle speeds except 20 mph zones. Previous driving history will not be taken into account when making an offer.

The course is no soft option for the offender. Attendance on the course attracts a fee payable by the offender, as well as the time and effort involved. The course may vary from force to force, as some forces will adopt the theory only element of four hours duration. There is an option to add the practical element that involves of up to another 90 minutes to accommodate the on-road session. The course will cater for all classes of drivers and there will be no discrimination regarding age, ability, language, ethnic origin or ability.