Speed Awarenees Course

[Bemused2]

My beloved has just been spotted by a speed camera doing 47 mph in a 40mph limit. ( Anybody from up North will probably know the dreaded Stanningley bye pass) She is a named driver on my policy.

She will attend the speed awareness course, but do I have to tell my insurance company?

Thanks.

[Raistlin]

Yes I'm afraid you do, as you if you made a claim and they found out you had witheld information they may be able to wriggle out of it.

[Heidfirst]

if she doesn't actually get points I wouldn't have thought so - however, all it will take is a phone call to find out ...

[Cyker]

It's a bit inconsistent; Some don't care, others do, some may bump up the premium a bit.

Best to ask them if you don't want to risk them 'wriggling out of it', as Raist puts it, if you ever have to claim!

[Parts-King]

Yes

I fear I might have got one yesterday too

[balli hi]

I remember an article in Taxi newspaper, according to the article even if you take up the offer of an awareness course instead of receiving points, some insurers will still bump up your insurance premium as if you had received points......and yes you do have to inform your insurer if you have been on a speed awareness course.

Check out this article from the AA http://www.theaa.com/newsroom/news-2012/car-insurance-and-speed-awareness-courses.html

Copied from the Go Compare site :

Do I have to inform my insurers?

While the successful completion of a speed awareness course does mean you've side-stepped a physical driving conviction, your insurance company still need to be made aware of this development as you broke the Road Traffic Act.

Insurers will not be informed by the police or local authority of your speed awareness course completion, so the onus is on you to inform them in good faith. This needs to be done by the renewal of your policy at the very latest.

How will it affect my premium?

Premiums are calculated on all manner of statistics and, while you've made the conscientious decision to accept a place on the course and to re-evaluate your driving, you've still shown a propensity to drive over the speed limit.

Courses have been structured in such a way that they genuinely open your eyes about the dangers of speeding

According to AA statistics, drivers with a single speeding conviction are 10-12% more likely to make a claim than those with a clean licence.[2]

Each insurance company will have its own underwriting criteria but, based on the AA's figures alone, it's understandable why insurers need to be informed.

Unfortunately at present there is no set rule for insurers to follow when a policy holder completes a speed awareness course.

In most cases your premium will increase… but not as much as it would if you took the fixed penalty and points option.

[Raistlin]

I'd just like to see Balli on an awareness course...

[balli hi]

I'd just like to see Balli on an awareness course...

No point, there's nothing they could teach me that i don't already know

[FROSTYBALLS]

Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue

[balli hi]

Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue

John Kenneth Galbraith :)

[Raistlin]

As if you knew that..

Google :)

[Aceshigh84]

Insurers will not be informed by the police or local authority of your speed awareness course completion, so the onus is on you to inform them in good faith.

Because insurance companies always act in good faith toward their customers - like at renewal time when they supply the best price for your loyal custom, or even in the event of a claim when they fix/replace/pay out without any hassle - it's only fair that customers act in the same way.

Do unto others and all that.

[Bemused2]

Thanks Balli hi. I will inform the insurance company. I will let you know what happens.

It is suprising that everyone I had asked off forum, from the pub know it all, to relatives and friends all say dont bother. Even those who have already been on the course have not told their insures. Including my son. Seems a lot of people are in for a shock when a claim is rejected because of non disclosure.

About sons experience a couple of weeks ago. A friends wife was on the speed awareness course with him. She had to pick up her children from nursery after the finish of the course, which overan. I her haste to pick them up, guess what, clocked by a speed camera.

[balli hi]

As if you knew that..

Google :)

I am all knowing :bookworm: I have the Knowledge ......How come you had to Google it

[balli hi]

'Greedy' councils rush to install new super-Gatso that catches FIFTY times as many drivers as standard traffic cameras

• The ZenGrab LaneWatch Mk2 cameras cost £17,000 each
• In a two-week trial, new camera caught more than 1,000 offences - compared to just 271 in entire year with conventional Gatso
• Company behind super-camera claims 'surge in interest' from councils
• Critics claim new system will simply use motorists as 'cash cows'

By SHARI MILLER

PUBLISHED: 09:44, 22 September 2013 | UPDATED: 11:04, 22 September 2013

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A super-camera capable of catching up to 50 times as many drivers as conventional speed cameras has been unveiled by councils across Britain as the latest weapon against motorists who break the rules of the road.

Some critics are already arguing the new system - known as ZenGrab LaneWatch Mk2 - will simply use motorists as 'cash cows', while fining drivers for every contravention to boost council income would be 'immoral'.

The cameras, which each cost £17,000 and feature two lenses and night vision, are being snapped up by councils across the country in expectation of a law change allowing the use of cameras to fine drivers for a greater range of offences.

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Goodbye Gatsos: Conventional speed cameras, like the one pictured, are set to be replaced by "super-cameras" capable of catching 50 times more drivers

In recent months, transport minister Norman Baker said all councils should have the power to fine drivers for passing no-entry signs or making illegal U-turns and right turns.

Councils within London already have those powers under the 2004 Traffic Management Act, but the government is now reviewing that situation for across the country.

Presently, cameras installed outside London are only used to enforce bus lanes.

But the new cameras can also track drivers who wander into yellow box junctions or make prohibited turns.

More...

• Thousands of motorists given points after being caught speeding by 'illegal' warning signs could have their cases DROPPED
• The seven second drop-off that cost motorist £70: Driver hit with parking fine by 'spy car' for letting mother-in-law out of car
• Cough up, Seb! After finishing fastest ahead of Singapore GP, world champion Vettel is handed laughable £170 fine for speeding

Documents from Westminster Council show that in trials on two similar stretches of road, the ZenGrab system caught more than 1,000 offences in four weeks, compared to just 271 caught on conventional Gatso cameras in an entire year.

Like borough councils across the capital, many others have expressed interest in the new system.

Manchester installed 15 ZenGrab cameras last month, Nottingham is upgrading to ZenGrab Mk 2 and both Glasgow and Medway in Kent already have the system in operation.

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Watching: Unlike the Gatso (pictured) the ZenGrab LaneWatch Mk 2 system can track more than just speeding offences, including drivers who make illegal U-turns or wander into bus lanes

Adrian Ford of Zenco, the company behind the ZenGrab system, told The Sunday Times that the past year had seen 'a surge in interest from councils.'

But motoring organisations have expressed their concerns.

Paul Watters from the AA, said: 'Sticking up cameras to enforce every minor contravention is bordering on the immoral.'

Brian Donohoe, Labour MP for Central Ayrshire, also found himself at odds with the ZenGrab system when he claims to have mistakenly pulled into a bus lane in Glasgow.

'They [the council] are using motorists as a cash cow. There is no other way of looking at it,' he said.

The widespread use of the cameras is also likely to further inflame recent criticism accusing councils of using parking fees as a massive moneyspinner.

Last month a survey revealed that town halls boosted their annual profit from parking tickets, permits and penalties in 2011-12 by more than £500million

The RAC Foundation revealed councils raked in more than £1.4billion, of which nearly £565million was pure profit.

That is £54million, 10.5 per cent, more than the ‘surplus’ in the previous year.

In August, the High Court declared Barnet Council in North London had acted illegally in setting parking charges for the sole purpose of making profit.

The RAC Foundation said councils must now ‘come clean’ about their parking charges and prove to motorists that they are not being used illegally to subsidise other services.

Mr Pickles added that the figures showed ‘why we need to review and rein in unfair town hall parking rules’ and urged councils to stop treating drivers as a ‘cash cow’ to subsidise other services.

COUNCILS AND THEIR CAMERAS: ENFORCING SAFETY OR A 'CASH COW'?

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Caught on camera: The conventional Gatso has been at the centre of controversy with motorists

The Gatso that made millions

In 2009, a motorway speed camera on the M11 at the junction with the North Circular A406 near Woodford, Essex, was estimated to catch up to 500 drivers a day - and generated nearly £1million a year in fines for Essex Council.

The camera, jointly run by Essex Council, was placed where the road narrowed from three lanes to two and the speed limit dropped from 70mph to 50mph.

But figures showed accidents rose by a quarter and casualties almost doubled after the Gatso camera was installed.

Police said crashes happened because motorists slowed down ahead of the camera and then sped up once they were clear of it.

A pretty penny for Peterborough

In 2010, two fixed cameras installed to slow cars to 40mph approaching roadworks brought in £54,000 in just 10 days.

The cameras were installed to slow drivers on the A1139 Frank Perkins Parkway in Peterborough.

No smiles for the camera

In 2011, more than 24,500 drivers were refunded nearly £1.5m in fines after it was found a speed camera had been operating illegally for 10 years.

Thousands were wrongly trapped by the Gatso device positioned along the busy A35 at Chideock, Dorset.

When the camera was installed in 1997, a clerical error on the original paperwork meant a road used to mark out the 30mph zone it policed, did not exist.

The error, which meant the speed limit was invalid and so could not be enforced by the camera, came to light when a judge spotted it in documents relating to the case of a lorry driver.

As a result 24,259 drivers who paid fines of £40 and £60 between 1997 and 2007 were refunded.

Some 201 motorists who challenged their fines in court received a total of £22,827 back from extra costs and fines they incurred.

And those who incurred three penalty points on their driving licences had them the wiped off.

The blunder has also cost the Dorset Road Safe organisation £370,981 in administration costs picked up for sorting out the mess.

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[Raistlin]

As if you knew that..

Google :)

I am all knowing :bookworm: I have the Knowledge ......How come you had to Google it

You are just a glorified Sat Nav...

[balli hi]

Sat Navs are useful :P whats your excuse .......

[Raistlin]

I never need one...

[balli hi]

You need to get out of Surrey more

[FROSTYBALLS]

He can't as he hasn't a sat nav

[Raistlin]

Surrey is the pinnacle of polite society. ..

Why would I leave ;)

[Bemused2]

Just an update. The wife attended the speed awareness course last Monday. I rang my insurance company, (Saga) and told them. They were not interested as she had not opted to have points on her already clean license. Strange how opinions differ as to what to do in such circumstances. Its about time the insurance industry ( bless them) clarified the situation.

[Parts-King]

I had a renewal notice from the insurance company yesterday for "the other half" I notice that the premium is based on information they hold up to the present day, and if there have been any convictions or PENDING possible convictions then I need to notify them. I think if the same happened to me, I would call them "just in case" you never know with insurance companies

Kingo