Speed awareness courses have the highest success rate when it comes to reducing the number of drivers who commit multiple speeding offences.

Drivers who attended a speed awareness course after their first offence, had a reoffending rate of 40%

Research carried out for Kwik Fit and published for Road Safety Week 2019 finds that 44% of Britain’s motorists have been caught speeding and of these, more than half (54%) have gone on to reoffend.

Yet this figure falls to 40% for drivers who’ve attended a speed awareness course after their first offence. Meanwhile drivers given a verbal warning rate by the police have a 58% reoffending rate, 55% for those who received three penalty points and a fine, and an astonishing figure of 90% of those given six points and a fine.

Providing further evidence of the benefits of speed awareness courses, the figures show that only 4% of drivers who had attended one after their first offence said they have gone on to commit four or more offences in total. This is half the proportion of those who received three penalty points and a fine (8%) and a quarter the rate of those receiving six penalty points and a fine (16%) for their first speeding offence.

Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, said: “One of the biggest dangers on our roads is excessive speed, and the findings of our research indicates that speed awareness courses have a greater impact on drivers’ behaviour than many perceive. Of course, while any measure which reduces the number of drivers repeatedly speeding is hugely welcome, we must focus on educating drivers not to speed in the first place – drivers should not need to be caught to be given a wake-up call.”