At last, speed courses may replace f ines for motorists

THOUSANDS of speeding drivers will avoid points and fines after the Scottish Government backed plans for a shake-up of the law.

Ministers have agreed that speed awareness courses (SACs) can be offered as an alternative to prosecution – 16 years after England.

They admitted SACs improve driving and help ‘save lives’.

But last night, police and prosecutors, who have spent nearly a year looking at how SACs could be introduced, could not say when they would finally be available. Analysis in Engwith land and Wales has shown day courses – costing less than £100 – are an effective way of stopping speeding.

They are also a better option for drivers than the existing system of points or fines because SACs do not always need to be declared to insurance companies, so do not automatically mean an increase in premiums.

Nick Lloyd, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: ‘Participation in the national SAC has a larger effect in reducing speed reoffending than the penalty points and fine associated

fixed penalty notices for the types of driver offered the course.’

The course impresses on drivers how a few extra miles per hour can cause serious injury or death should there be a collision.

Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Garry McEwan said: ‘A multiagency group has been established to examine the logistical and operational framework of offering any motorists caught speeding the opportunity to enrol in a speed awareness course.’

A UK Government assessment found the courses cut reoffending by up to a quarter in the first six months and were more effective at reducing speed than fines and points. The findings were included in a Police Scotland report to the Lord Advocate.

A Crown Office spokesman said: ‘A substantial body of work is required before diversionary courses can be introduced to Scotland and it would not be appropriate to speculate about either the conclusions of the group nor the timescales involved.’

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘The Lord Advocate has agreed in principle to the introduction of road traffic diversionary courses, including speed awareness, and a multi-agency group is considering how alternatives could work.’

‘A larger effect in reducing reoffending’