Police ‘using motorists as cash cows’ as speed course fees rise

POLICE forces are being accused of using motorists as ‘cash cows’ after their fees for speed awareness courses jumped by more than 25 per cent.

The amount received by a constabulary for each person it sends on a course rose from £35 to £ 5 last month.

The cash is designated to police forces by the Treasury to cover the costs of catching speeding motorists. Chief constables spend the money as they see fit.

With about 1.2million drivers attending speed awareness courses annually, the increase means police forces will now collect £5 million a year.

There are also huge differences in how much motorists in different parts of the country pay for courses.

Speeding motorists attending courses in Northamptonshire pay £75, while those in Essex pay 32 per cent more, at £99. Motorcyclists attending Ride courses will pay £80 in Lancashire and £185 in Norfolk and Suffolk. Forces receive millions of pounds more from the 200,000 road users attending other types of courses.

The National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme is run on behalf of the police and is owned by a not-for-profit private firm UKROED Ltd.

Offenders who complete them avoid a minimum of three penalty points on their licence, a £100 fine and paying more for insurance.

Steve Gooding, of the RAC Foundation, said: ‘Most people attending speed awareness courses sing their praises but what they might not realise is the postcode lottery they face in the costs involved.

‘Surely there is no other part of the criminal justice system where fines and penalties vary by as much as a third across the country?’ Tory MP Julian Knight, of the FairFuelUK cross party group, said: ‘There seems to be unfairness in the way costs vary – it seems to be based on a whim.

‘We all want to ensure speeds are enforced in this country but motorists should not be used as a cash cow.

‘These courses should only be used when they can make a real difference, rather than to raise extra revenue and let drivers get away with speeding.’

A spokesman for NDORS said course providers tried to absorb as much of the 29 per cent rise in the police cost recovery fee as possible, meaning speed awareness courses went up by an average of less than £1 last month to £88.90.

A National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesman said: ‘Forces do not profit from these courses and the financial model provides for cost recovery only.’