Speed Awarness Course

[menzies3032]

Thought I would share some interesting insights with you.

Me being a bright spark I though in the dark at 23:30 at night the average speed camera on telegraph hill would not be able to get me as there is not enough light....... wrong.. Hence got an invite to a speed awareness course.

And yes they said the line that i hate more then anything else which is "Speed Kills" after they had shown us a solum video about 1 mph making a massive difference in stopping distances and you could be killing a child.

Now don't get me wrong I get the concept and much prefer that they educate rather then just throw points at people so welcome the different approach. but got talking to the trainer as was concerned they were just showing the physics after somebody hits the brake pedal and was not discussing the time taken from something happening on the road that should require a reaction to the time that a driver actually makes a rection and some vey interesting information started to immerge that i would like to share with you...

Number 1 cause of accidents = Tiredness
Number 2 cause of accidents = Lack of awareness / driver being distracted
Number 3 cause of accident = excessive speed for the situation.

Also 93% of accident in 2022 were deemed as being avoidable accidents and were deemed as driver / rider error

So if my math is right then a trainer of a speed awareness course just told me that speed is 3rd reason for an accident and only accounts for 7% of accidents on our roads.

On challenging him with this information one on one he highlighted that speed can be measured and more easily captured where as awareness has to be seen and acted on by officers which is more difficult and that is why speed awareness courses also focus some of the training on road awareness and highlight the importance of should you get behind a wheel.

Also another interesting comment is that speed limits on our roads are decided based on national and regional information taken for the accidents that happen on that type of road. This is why we have 40 or 50 mph. This also explains why a single track b road with your car wing mirrors touch on either side is a 60mph as there is not enough accidents on these roads to result in the speed limit needing to be lowered. Hence this is also why we have so many roads in Devon that are deemed as A roads but are also deemed as Rural and why we get to keep them at 60mph.

One thing I did take away from the course and really actually made me think... was how much time do you actually save by going faster and exceeding the speed limits. If your talking a journey of 10 / 20 minutes your talking seconds, minutes at best. if your talking hundreds of miles then might just be able to save 15 minutes if your lucky and really push it. But in a situation where your in one of those car things and you just need to get from A to B and know your never going to get any enjoyment out of driving then may as well just do the speed limits.

If i want to actually enjoy a motorised vehicle will be turning (as i already do) to my motorbike where you can really enjoy great roads, with no traffic, no houses, no paths, no school and nothing but fields as far as the eye can see and open winding roads.
Or even better book another track day

Hope you found this of interest

[Jug]

Nice write up.
Can they "fail" you if you don't agree with them on the day.

[Ming]

I had an argument with the guy doing my last one, over the "how much time do you save" issue. If I've got to do 30 miles cross country - say, from Teignmouth to Salcombe - then if I stick to the limits it's going to take an awfully long time in comparison to if I went over the limit, especially when overtaking.
40mph dual carriageway (Paignton ring road), stay behind that Honda Jazz at 40, then follow him all through the 60mph roads at 40 cuz he hasn't a clue and there's nowhere safe to pass. Then, randomly he'll slow to let Farmer Giles out of a turning and we'll be held up even more. Then he gets stuck in a narrow part with an oncoming lorry..... You get the idea - one missed overtake and I'll regret it for ages.
But yes, if you had clear roads I'd stick to the limits. But when I get held up, I want to make up time that's been wasted. Maybe being a courier for 30 years does that to you

[billinom8s]

they can make the figures pretty much say what they want.

they can measure awareness, thatt's why they take the distance of skid marks on the road, that measured against the weight of the vehicle can give speed. also, no rubber on the ground, no braking, no awareness.
Pretty easy to spot that people aren't aware of their surroundings, how many times do you see a row of cars in lane 2 on the motorway doing 50mph and then they give you daggers when you pass them?

when i did my course a few years back it was funny to see that of the approximate 70 people on the course, the only ones who knew anything about the rules of the road were the ones who rode bikes, the car drivers didn't care.

[Bilko1000]

Speed does not kill.unawareness does resulting in excessive speed for the situation you are in, and awareness covers everything from your own ability, vehicle ability and reading the evironment around you.

Even on a track day with no speed limits faster riders are generally safer than the slower ones who may be in the wrong group or simply due to their ability and situational awareness they are more dangerous.

The three track day groupings all have no speed limits, they are just based on ability of the rider regardless of speed.

Its an over simplification the phrase speed kills, it should be excessive speed for the situation kills but thats not very snappy is it, besides speed limits have to cater for all abilities, which is why they have not changed in decades.

[billinom8s]

speed is fine. it's the rapid halt that generally does the damage.

[menzies3032]

Nice write up.
Can they "fail" you if you don't agree with them on the day.

They encourage discussion and as long as your comments are constructive in the nature and your not abusive then your good. If you walk out half way through the corse as you don’t like what there saying they keep your £100 for your spot on the course and you also get a second letter with a fine and points.

Basically polite discussion and disagreement is ok but best to shut up and listen.

[TLS-Moose]

In my experience of Speed Awareness courses, the best advice I can give is be patient, be calm, listen, seem engaged, but SHUT THE F*** UP!! - say the minimum to keep them happy, get the session over as quickly as possible and move on with life. It's pointless arguing with them - they have a set agenda determined by experts to support their own perspective which will never align with that of a motorcycle rider or sports car driver - all you do is extend the time of the course as they have a set content to cover, and you anger all the rest of the attendees who want to get done and get on with their own lives .....

On a more important note, if you get offered a SAC 1. opt to do the online version and 2. choose your course provider carefully as the course cost can vary by upto 30% (when I did mine last year, Hartlepool Borough Councils course via Cleveland or Durham Police was cheapest at £73)

[Ming]

Good tip about shopping around for the best price - I did mine online via Glos Police as they were £15 cheaper than anywhere else I could find

[layne]

Just got around all this nonsense by going to Spain.

Raced around the Picos mountain roads for 2000Km.

Very few cars, people or police.

Completely destroyed my front tyre though in the process.

[billinom8s]

You don't 'ft the option if pulled in Dorset, they opted out of the national scheme so you have to go to either Weymouth or Dorchester.

[Ruffian]

Krystal ended up doing one a few years back,

They tried to say that the braking distances are x,y and z.
Someone made a comment that it may have been but with more modern tyres and brakes times have changed.
The instructor mentioned that "Well we don't drive around in porsches etc"

Did make me chuckle when I got told when she got home about it.

Yes speed limits are in place for a reason. But it's more people distracted by phones or poor eyesight, lack of vehicle maintenance or similar which is more of a threat to safety.

[TLS-Moose]

Did make me chuckle when I got told when she got home about it.

Yes speed limits are in place for a reason. But it's more people distracted by phones or poor eyesight, lack of vehicle maintenance or similar which is more of a threat to safety.

As per my comment above the point is what you think, or what seems common sense, is largely irrelevant if it doesn't fit their agenda.

I will say that for the course I did, the guy taking it was decent - actually had a sense of humour - and there were a few facts that were genuinely eye-opening/interesting/useful ....

[ptolemyx]

Of course, if you never break the speed limit.....

[Ming]

Of course, if you never break the speed limit.....

You'll probably drive a Honda Jazz