I went to a speed awareness course today, and to be honest it was amazing just how many things I didnt know, and what they taught me.
I had the option of taking 3 points or the course - so naturally I chose the course.
I got in there and the instructors were very friendly and welcoming, they didnt treat us as though we had something seriously wrong. They helped us and treat us with the upmost respect. We were handed a 'the highway code' book, and a small booklet with some statistics and questions to answer in (we later took this home). The course duration was 4 hours 20 minutes, but there was no lack of concentration as there was much interaction.
They went through,
1) Speed - and how to determine what speed you should be going at, with things like road lines, and street lighting being obvious ways to tell.
2)The road signs - and what sign means what (the most common).
and last of all
3) Hazard Perception.
We had two 10 minute breaks within that 4 hours 20 minutes.
Also surprisingly I was the youngest there, along with another girl (aged 24) the rest of the class of 21 were aged between 45 and 75.
As you can imagine the man aged 75 seriously had an axe to grind, as he had been driving for almost 50 years, and only had one offence, and the one he made this time n he was stuck on a speed awareness course. However by the end of it, he was surprised at just how much he learnt and didnt know.
I do think they are a good thing to go to. Ok, so I had to pay a £60 fee to take the course (also the price of the fine) but I learnt a lot.
NOTE: To all you speeders out there, dont do in the merseyside are, luckily I got caught in Cheshire, which is only a £60 charge and a being a classroom for 4 hours. However, if you are caught in merseyside, you have to pay £90 and you have to go out practically in the car aswell - and I am sure those drivers wont want to do that
All in all, I didnt want to go, but in actual fact, I enjoyed it.