New way to put brakes on speeding drivers? Use Zoom, of course!

SPEEDING drivers will soon be able to avoid getting points on their licence by sitting a course – on Zoom.

Speed awareness courses, which can be taken as an alternative to having points or a fine imposed, are being planned for Scottish drivers for the first time.

The courses are already run by forces in England, and the Greater Manchester Police scheme has been chosen as the preferred model for one north of the Border.

That would give drivers the choice of going to a classroom centre, or logging on via the video conferencing service, ironically called Zoom.

Police, prosecutors and Ministers have been discussing how the courses could be introduced in Scotland for years, and a multiagency steering group is still to report to the Lord Advocate.

However, recent minutes from a Road Safety Strategic Partnership meeting claimed ‘great progress’ is being made. A new IT system has been rolled out to six police divisions to run the courses, with two still to go, the minutes said, adding that Greater Manchester was ‘the preferred model in terms of the size of the force and what could be accommodated’.

In Manchester, drivers who have committed ‘a low-level speeding offence’ are given the option of paying £90 to attend a course and avoid a £100 fine and points.

The course lasts two hours and 45 minutes and involves learning ‘how to identify speed limits, the consequences of speeding, the benefits of sticking to the limit, and how to avoid speeding again’.

It does not involve any actual driving or a test.

The website for the speed awareness course in Manchester spells out the rules for drivers who choose to take the online version. It states: ‘If you choose the online course, you will need access to a device (computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone) with microphone and camera with reliable internet connection capable of streaming video.

‘You will need to be in a private room, alone without disturbances.

You must engage in the course throughout – clients must not switch off their webcam, leave the course or have other members of the household in the room with them.

‘Clients should give their full attention to the course and not be distracted.’

Generally, a speed of up to 10 per cent above the limit plus an extra 9mph would qualify for being dealt with through a course. That would include people driving up to and including 86mph in a 70mph zone, or 42mph where the limit is 30mph.

However, before courses are offered in Scotland, there must be a change to legislation by the UK Government, and the green light given by the Lord Advocate.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Scottish Government and partners are committed, through the recently published Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030, for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030.

‘To achieve the framework’s outcome of safe road use, the role of road safety education, as part of lifelong learning, is essential in motivating road users to move away from bad practice.’

A Crown Office spokesman said: ‘We have not, as yet, received a report from the multi-agency steering group.’

‘Clients must not switch off their webcam’