Are courses, not penalty points, the best route to safer roads?

Avon and Somerset, Thames Valley, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire, UK, have been trialling speed awareness courses. Motorists caught speeding are given the choice of attending a course instead of having three penalty points put onto their licences. In Thames Valley, 36,000 drivers have completed speed awareness courses over 2 years. The 3-hour course, run by Drivetech, consists of computer simulation exercises, information on the consequences of poor speed choices and a discussion about how the participants' driving can be improved in the future. The course has shown the necessity for some form of 'refresher' training for experienced motorists. Most of the course attendees exceeded the speed limit by a relatively small amount in urban areas. Thames Valley also runs courses for offenders breaking the limit by 20 mph or more. Attendees pay #71 to Drivetech instead of a #60 fine, which goes to the government. The possibility of developing speed awareness courses for other groups, e.g. company fleet drivers, is being considered.