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Thames Valley Police - 'Speed Awareness' course thresholds

BTB 500

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Just in case anyone is interested, in the Thames Valley region you will currently be offered a Speed Awareness course as an alternative to a fixed penalty for being caught at the following speeds:

30 limit: from 35 to 39 mph
40 limit: from 46 to 50 mph
50 limit: from 57 to 61 mph
60 limit: from 68 to 72 mph
70 limit: from 79 to 83 mph

These applied from April 1st 2007.

The 'from' speeds are as per the ACPO guidelines ... below those no action would normally be taken.

http://www.acpo.police.uk/asp/policies/Data/speed_enforcement_guidelines_web_v7_foi.doc

Oh and it was Mrs BTB that got a NIP, not me :)
 
im going on this course in crowthorne.

i was caught doing 61 in a 40
 
I don't know what wisdom is applied to these schemes, but a translator friend of mine was paid £130 to translate for a non resident Italian attending a speed awareness course.
 
What balls these schemes are. Attend a course where everybody there, lecturers, pupils, knows what a load of tosh it is but has to pretend it's useful and informative. Paying lip service to safety as an offset to what it's really all about... obedience training.

So, you get caught indulging in the heinous crime of travelling at 35mph on a road with a 30mph limit, no accident, no injuries, no harm caused to anyone or anything. The fact this road had a limit of 40 or 50mph operating safely for decades previously is of course totally ignored.

You can then feign contrition and enlightenment, then go on your way. Your attendance will be added to the database with the other grown adults that had to pretend they wanted to be educated, when really they just wanted to avoid the points.

Later, some people can sit around a table and hail what a great national success the "intiatives" have been; people are "speeding" less. Hallelujah. Meanwhile, people are travelling more slowly. Not because the course has shown them the "error" of their ways, but because more and more technology is being employed that batters them into travelling at lower and lower, sillier and sillier speeds.

Also because these slower speeds are causing more congestion. Not surprising when coupled with the whole kit of more sets of traffic lights, roundabouts (that ease traffic flow) being removed and replaced with traffic lights, or having lights put on them, great lengths of dual carriageway narrowed (FFS!), barely-used cycle lanes replacing inside lanes (where there are wide footpaths that would easily accomodate the cycle lane). 20mph limits. Hatching along the centre of wide, open main roads where overtaking is (was) perfectly safe. Motorway on-roads being narrowed to one lane... what on earth is that for? So we can all join fast-moving traffic at the dangerously-slow speed selected by one crawling idiot in the queue? And on it goes.

It is often said there are "too many" vehicles on our roads in the UK. WHAT? How many people lightheartedly make the investment in a vehicle? 99.9% of vehicles are necessary... and heavily paid for. There are too many vehicles for the deliberate obstructions to progress is the reality.

We are being played with big time... all under the banner of "Safety".
 
I don't know what wisdom is applied to these schemes, but a translator friend of mine was paid £130 to translate for a non resident Italian attending a speed awareness course.

the irony being that for years the italian drivers have been nothing short of mental, but all of a sudden their government has gone draconian and theyre all sh*tting themselves over there.....
 
What balls these schemes are. Attend a course where everybody there, lecturers, pupils, knows what a load of tosh it is but has to pretend it's useful and informative. Paying lip service to safety as an offset to what it's really all about... obedience training.

So, you get caught indulging in the heinous crime of travelling at 35mph on a road with a 30mph limit, no accident, no injuries, no harm caused to anyone or anything. The fact this road had a limit of 40 or 50mph operating safely for decades previously is of course totally ignored.

You can then feign contrition and enlightenment, then go on your way. Your attendance will be added to the database with the other grown adults that had to pretend they wanted to be educated, when really they just wanted to avoid the points.

Later, some people can sit around a table and hail what a great national success the "intiatives" have been; people are "speeding" less. Hallelujah. Meanwhile, people are travelling more slowly. Not because the course has shown them the "error" of their ways, but because more and more technology is being employed that batters them into travelling at lower and lower, sillier and sillier speeds.

Also because these slower speeds are causing more congestion. Not surprising when coupled with the whole kit of more sets of traffic lights, roundabouts (that ease traffic flow) being removed and replaced with traffic lights, or having lights put on them, great lengths of dual carriageway narrowed (FFS!), barely-used cycle lanes replacing inside lanes (where there are wide footpaths that would easily accomodate the cycle lane). 20mph limits. Hatching along the centre of wide, open main roads where overtaking is (was) perfectly safe. Motorway on-roads being narrowed to one lane... what on earth is that for? So we can all join fast-moving traffic at the dangerously-slow speed selected by one crawling idiot in the queue? And on it goes.

It is often said there are "too many" vehicles on our roads in the UK. WHAT? How many people lightheartedly make the investment in a vehicle? 99.9% of vehicles are necessary... and heavily paid for. There are too many vehicles for the deliberate obstructions to progress is the reality.

We are being played with big time... all under the banner of "Safety".

Nice Rant :thumb:

There are too many meddling civil servants too many politicians out to make a name for themselves, too many rules and regulations and not enough freedoms...
 
What balls these schemes are. Attend a course where everybody there, lecturers, pupils, knows what a load of tosh it is but has to pretend it's useful and informative. Paying lip service to safety as an offset to what it's really all about... obedience training.

So, you get caught indulging in the heinous crime of travelling at 35mph on a road with a 30mph limit, no accident, no injuries, no harm caused to anyone or anything. The fact this road had a limit of 40 or 50mph operating safely for decades previously is of course totally ignored.

You can then feign contrition and enlightenment, then go on your way. Your attendance will be added to the database with the other grown adults that had to pretend they wanted to be educated, when really they just wanted to avoid the points.

Later, some people can sit around a table and hail what a great national success the "intiatives" have been; people are "speeding" less. Hallelujah. Meanwhile, people are travelling more slowly. Not because the course has shown them the "error" of their ways, but because more and more technology is being employed that batters them into travelling at lower and lower, sillier and sillier speeds.

Also because these slower speeds are causing more congestion. Not surprising when coupled with the whole kit of more sets of traffic lights, roundabouts (that ease traffic flow) being removed and replaced with traffic lights, or having lights put on them, great lengths of dual carriageway narrowed (FFS!), barely-used cycle lanes replacing inside lanes (where there are wide footpaths that would easily accomodate the cycle lane). 20mph limits. Hatching along the centre of wide, open main roads where overtaking is (was) perfectly safe. Motorway on-roads being narrowed to one lane... what on earth is that for? So we can all join fast-moving traffic at the dangerously-slow speed selected by one crawling idiot in the queue? And on it goes.

It is often said there are "too many" vehicles on our roads in the UK. WHAT? How many people lightheartedly make the investment in a vehicle? 99.9% of vehicles are necessary... and heavily paid for. There are too many vehicles for the deliberate obstructions to progress is the reality.

We are being played with big time... all under the banner of "Safety".
I agree 100%. It has all got silly and illogical.
 
......

So, you get caught indulging in the heinous crime of travelling at 35mph on a road with a 30mph limit, no accident, no injuries, no harm caused to anyone or anything. The fact this road had a limit of 40 or 50mph operating safely for decades previously is of course totally ignored......

Sure - you don't have an accident, injury or similar.

This time.

But everytime ?

Sorry I don't agree with you. Limits apply to everyone - not doubting your talent at driving, but it only takes one idiot, and you could be hit as a third party. Not to mention pedestrians etc.

Sure, some roads perhaps have been overly 'controlled' - but that's the exception not the norm.
 
By giving drivers points you can only tax fine them four times but with this new system you can keep on taxing fining them and employ more civil servants. A government win-win.
 
Interesting thread!

Not sure about extra taxing thing because they only give you one bite of the speed awareness cherry.

And.. in Wiltshire at least they don't have speed awareness for offences at 70MPH
 
Personally, I find the whole mobile scam oops safety cameras a complete contradiction of civil liberty.

While a person or persons can decide at their discretion where a speed camera can be on a given day surely the motorist is being discriminated against....

The fact that the two occasions on which I have been "taxed" were mobile scameras has no bearing at all on this post....
 
Personally, I find the whole mobile scam oops safety cameras a complete contradiction of civil liberty.

While a person or persons can decide at their discretion where a speed camera can be on a given day surely the motorist is being discriminated against....

The fact that the two occasions on which I have been "taxed" were mobile scameras has no bearing at all on this post....

:confused:

Since when does breaking the law contradict civil liberties?
 
Thinking that the arbritrary decision by individuals to decide where mobile cameras are sited is a contraction of my civil liberty as one person could effectively decide where to site a machine for their own reasons rather than after a debate say, by the local council.

Agreeing with you that the fact of speeding past them is unlawful.
 
im going on this course in crowthorne.

Yup that's where Mrs BTB went a few weeks go.

The course costs more than the fixed penalty (naturally!).
 
I don't know what wisdom is applied to these schemes, but a translator friend of mine was paid £130 to translate for a non resident Italian attending a speed awareness course.

Yup there was a lady on Mrs BTB's course that spoke no English. It was her 'translator' (a relative) who actually took part in all the group work & discussion - she just sat there.

As far as I'm concerned you shouldn't be given the option of attending a course you can't understand or participate in.
 
Thinking that the arbritrary decision by individuals to decide where mobile cameras are sited is a contraction of my civil liberty as one person could effectively decide where to site a machine for their own reasons rather than after a debate say, by the local council.

Agreeing with you that the fact of speeding past them is unlawful.

Except that this isn't the case. The sites are predetermined and, in many areas, the sites which are to be manned are publicised in advance.
 
the irony being that for years the italian drivers have been nothing short of mental, but all of a sudden their government has gone draconian and theyre all sh*tting themselves over there.....
Interesting that you make that comment as I've just returned from a couple of weeks driving to and in Italy. Based on previous experience of driving there I'd say you're right for the most part: on motorways and in towns the driving was definitely slower than it used to be. However, out in the boonies things were refreshingly "normal" regarding rate of progress. One thing that was very obvious is that where stupidly low limits have been applied to lightly trafficked non-urban dual carriageways (e.g. on the E45 twixt Cesana and Perugia which has had a 90kph limit applied - yawn), that limit is completely ignored except where speed cameras are sited.

The French seem to have settled down a bit in the last year or two as well. When Sarkozy's enforcement regime first kicked in a few years ago, everyone seemed to be driving around at snail's pace everywhere. My latest experience was that you still don't tend to see the ultra-fast traffic on the Autoroutes that you used to see before France went speed enforcement bonkers, but out in the boonies speeds have definitely drifted up again, with a large proportion of drivers routinely ignoring the 90kph single carriageway limit.
 

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