Speed awareness course.

[Super Sonic]

Does completing a speed awareness course count as a conviction?

[Jamescrs]

No

I did one myself (I think) 3 years ago now and was specifically told by the course trainers it was not a conviction and not something which is routinely disclosable to insurers however they did add if you were asked by an insurer when obtaining a quote just hang up rather than answering the question. I think there was insurer who used to ask but I don't recall which one it was now, Admiral sticks in my mind.

[BertBert]

Admiral did indeed ask, but no longer do.

Even then it's not a conviction just a piece of information that er, informs!

You are essentially not admitting guilt by going on a course, although you have admitted driving at the time of the alleged offence.

[DartyBistard]

When I did my one they were very specific that it wasn't a conviction, offence or anything else you'd have to answer 'yes' to when getting insurance and that under no circumstances would attendance records be shared with insurers. Admiral group did ask at one point but no longer do as already mentioned, not sure how they'd be able to prove you lied in any case given the above.

[Super Sonic]

Many thanks everyone, my first ticket in twenty years of having a licence,57 in a temporary 50 on the M62! :-I

[vonhosen]

Super Sonic said:

Many thanks everyone, my first ticket in twenty years of having a licence,57 in a temporary 50 on the M62! :-I

Ticket?
I thought you were asking about a speed awareness course.

[texaxile]

No, but as a heads up for what to expect:

My course was partly educational but the guys who host it were very careful around offending people and very accepting of different points of view.

One question we were asked was "When is it acceptable to speed?" Their answer "Never".

My answer was to ask why the Emergency Services deem it safe to do so, thus in some cases, it is "acceptable" - my answer was met with "it is at the discretion of the professional driver" or somesuch nonsense. Obviously been asked before and prepared answers.

To be fair to the guys though, they were very affable and never took any position of authority, They were more of the attitude of "OK, you've been caught - let's get this over with painlessly as possible" It also turned out that I played football on the same team as one of the "hosts" brothers a few years ago so it was all very good natured and not dictactorial in any way. Small groups better than large ones as well.

Expect the usual guff about stopping distances, a couple of videos on observation and generally losing 4+ hours of your life that you'll never see again.

[Short Grain]

If your good, you get tea and biscuits at some point!!

Just wait till you meet some of the muppets your fellow participants. Don't argue with the presenters, one woman at the one I attended 11 years ago almost got thrown off the course when she just wouldn't stop sniping!! Was funny to watch her backtrack when she was very politely asked if she would prefer to leave!

[Super Sonic]

vonhosen said:

Super Sonic said:

Many thanks everyone, my first ticket in twenty years of having a licence,57 in a temporary 50 on the M62! :-I

Ticket?
I thought you were asking about a speed awareness course.

When I say 'ticket' I mean 'notice of intent to prosecute'

[cat with a hat]

nope. clean record, no need to disclose anything.

[Sheepshanks]

Super Sonic said:

vonhosen said:

Super Sonic said:

Many thanks everyone, my first ticket in twenty years of having a licence,57 in a temporary 50 on the M62! :-I

Ticket?
I thought you were asking about a speed awareness course.

When I say 'ticket' I mean 'notice of intent to prosecute'

In the same vein, I know you used 'conviction' in a broad sense too, but it's worth noting that only a Court and convict (and fine) you.

[MuscleSedan]

Short Grain said:

If your good, you get tea and biscuits at some point!!

Just wait till you meet some of the muppets your fellow participants. Don't argue with the presenters, one woman at the one I attended 11 years ago almost got thrown off the course when she just wouldn't stop sniping!! Was funny to watch her backtrack when she was very politely asked if she would prefer to leave!

Yep the participants on the one I attended were a diverse group of muppets / characters perfectly selected to come into conflict with each other while stuck in a room together for a very hot afternoon !

We were told before the end that once we left the room that was it, nothing on record. We had attended the course and didn't have to tell anyone anything.

[sbk1972]

Ive completed one of these course and there is always one who like to argue about speeding, braking distances and `what if`.

Part of the course is to watch a video and spot all the possible issues, dangers etc. I spotted 36, lady next to me spotted 3 !! just 3 !!!! Good god. There were 40 issues in total so I missed 4. This lady had missed 37 !! She'd been on the course 4 times but told me to say nothing.
Makes you realise how poor the standard of driving is nowadays.

Just be quiet, ask no questions and let the course complete as quick as it can. It's about 3hrs but 4+ if you have an argumentative prat in your group.

[stef1808]

About 5 years did the course and almost fell asleep to which I was politely advised to pay attention or would not be passed

1 hour of scaremongering and reminding you the dangers of uncalculated/high risk areas speeding... perhaps a good thing for the general public with half a brain

[Short Grain]

stef1808 said:

About 5 years did the course and almost fell asleep to which I was politely advised to pay attention or would not be passed

1 hour of scaremongering and reminding you the dangers of uncalculated/high risk areas speeding... perhaps a good thing for the general public with half a brain

An Hour, mine was half a day with a 10min break for coffee and biscuits (crap biscuits as well) and 'smoke 'em if you've got 'em'