There's that awful moment in some peoples' lives when an unbidden, official letter pops through the letterbox and lands with the weight of a thousand traffic cops on the shattered remains of a once unblemished driving record.
I am that person; that awful, hateful, hated person who believed themselves to be a better driver than most - although obviously not the best, that would be arrogant and conceited; that person who tuts at middle-lane hoggers and Sunday drivers and high speed racers; that person who pities and belittles Audi drivers and their broken indicators (it's not just me, is it? None of them work!); who bemoans the rudeness of others, the lack of care, the lack of observation, the lack of understanding, the lack of sharing.
I am also that person who did 42mph in a 30mph zone. After going through 3 villages on a National Speed Limit road in Cambridge at below 30mph - because that's the law! - and accelerating back to 60mph on leaving each one, I assumed the presence of a National Speed Limit sign as I exited the 4th village, only to be confronted by a camera. As I accelerated. Into what I thought was a 60mph zone. I'm sure I looked serenely happy on the photograph taken of me, believing that I was conforming to road conditions rather than stereotype - not that there is a stereotype where speeding is concerned. There isn't. Your background, age, education, profession mean nothing. We're human. And sometimes we make mistakes.
It matters not. I had not been concentrating. If I had, I would have seen that there was a slightly tighter bend, that visibility was not great because of the trees and shrubs, that there was a hazard line in the middle of the road (the lengthened white line), that there was a camera immediately after the road narrowing furniture.
After nearly 30 years with a clean licence, pulled over once 15 years ago by a very bored policeman at 3 o'clock in the morning after a 6 hour drive to London from Newcastle to have a finger wagging session about doing 31 in a 30 zone, I had received the dreaded "Notification of Naughtiness!" And it was probably about time. Although I never considered myself to be an "habitual speeder" I had probably been more wary of speed cameras, police cars and camera vans than I cared to admit. In fact, and I don't think I'm alone here and certainly not among people of my age and sex (I'm talking middle aged man, here), I may be able to have counted myself lucky that I had not been "done" before.
The offer was simple. 3 points on my licence for the first time ever and a fine, or 100 of my finest British pounds and a National Speed Awareness Course with AA Drivetech via which I kept my licence clean. There was no point arguing that it wasn't me, that it wasn't fair. It was me. It was fair. That was that.
So, I joined 24 other reprobates to discover the error of my ways. I also discovered that most of them had been caught doing a lot less than I had been, which was sobering in its own right.
I was expecting to be spoken to like an errant child or lambasted for my flagrant disregard for safety and the lives of others, held up as a danger and ridiculed for my stupidity and selfishness. I couldn't have been more wrong. The two course leaders were open, friendly, easy-going and chatty. Bryan Lennox and Aadam Malik weren't there to tell anyone off or make anyone feel bad. They were there to educate. That was it. We can all say that we know all this and we're all aware of the illegality and that we won't do it again. But if that was the case, we wouldn't be there in the first place, would we? It's an awareness course, not detention. And for all that some of the people on the course may have wanted to make a statement or attempt to state their case as if they were on trial, the whole point was that everyone would leave with a better understanding of the reasons behind speed limits and what to look for to inform our driving.
It's amazing what you miss when you look out of your window. Do you see that guy on the corner, the one who's always there? Did you notice that his shoes are a bit shabbier today and that his trousers are dirty? Can you see the shop on the end has changed its display - there are now 4 cakes on the shelf, not the usual 2? Do you see the zig zag lines near the traffic lights? Did you see the yellow lines on the side of the road, were they single or double… were they red? Did you see the girl in the short skirt, the guy in the sharp suit, THAT CHILD!
There are many reasons why we speed, but all of them are under our control, and one of the main things I will take from this course is the knowledge that I'm the one in control. If you're angry, take a breath. If you're tired, take a break or take it easy. If you're late, just be late. It's up to you to smile, sleep, leave a bit earlier. These are just examples, and they're exactly like the pressure that you might feel from other drivers to go faster. There's a reason for the speed limits in the UK. You might not think they're important, fair or even safe, you may have someone right on your tail, you might think your skill as a driver surpasses the road conditions or even your vehicle. (How many times have you heard someone say "my car/bike's so much more capable than I am". I know it's a joke, but you're in charge of it!) For all that bravado, we are all human. We all make mistakes.
This course is a refresher for the things you know but don't consider anymore. It's a reminder about the value of knowing the Highway Code. It's an education, actually. I have to say, though, that I was very worried that so few people appeared to know the National Speed Limits. I don't know what's worse, not knowing them and driving too fast or knowing them and deliberately not adhering to them. One of the first polls done on the day was about how dangerous people thought "marginal speeding" was. Just a couple of miles an hour over a speed limit increases your stopping distance, decreases the margin of error for reaction times and increases the likelihood of a mishap becoming something far more serious. It really is a matter of life or death. And no matter how desperate and extreme that might sound, it's true. Speed does kill. (Alright, for those of you who are pedantic enough, it's the metal, plastic, concrete and tarmac that kill you, but try falling over on it, rather than being hurled at it!)
My understanding of road conditions is more immediate now, it's more conscious. I have, in the past, commentated on my view from behind the wheel or on the bike, talking through what I'm seeing. But I've only ever done it as an exercise. It's a really good one to do, too, constantly reviewing what you can see, what might affect you, the hazards, distractions and road furniture. All of it. I just haven't CONSCIOUSLY taken it all in for a very long time. It's well worth doing.
I could have taken a very dim view of all of this. I could have decided that it was 4 hours that I'll never get back, that I knew it all anyway. Of course I did. That's why I was there, obviously, because I knew it all already! As it was, I became aware that I was learning how to use my skills more appropriately, how to better evaluate conditions and the driving environment. How to be a better, more considerate, more capable and more aware driver. It all began to feel as though I was investing in my future as a motorist rather than being punished for breaking the law.
I'm not going to go all bombastic and start shouting that I've seen the light, but I've come away from it all with the very certain belief that, actually, every driver should take this course. No matter how condescending or patronising any individual may think it is, they couldn't be more wrong and it would be very worthwhile. If it saves lives, calms drivers, reduces congestion (or at least keeps increasing levels of traffic moving) makes roads safer and more pleasurable places to be it has to be a good thing. Save the speed for where it's safest. Go to a race track. Pay your pounds to the guys there, rather than putting anyone else at risk and potentially costing yourself a whole lot more by doing it on the public road.
I am a convert. And if you're stuck behind someone doing the speed limit, just take a breath, slow down and give a little space and maybe, just maybe, you'll come away with a better awareness of what's going on around you. It took the threat of prosecution, some money I could ill-afford to spend on it and 4 hours on a course for me to learn what I should already have known. Imagine how much easier it would be if you could do that in the comfort of your own car, just by watching the road a bit more carefully.
If you're still sceptical about the benefits of this course here are a few numbers. Over 195,000 people were injured as a result of road accidents in 2012. Of those, more than 23,000 were serious (e.g. involving broken bones) and 1700 people died. In a quarter of the total number of accidents speed was a factor. That's pretty bad. Now consider who you share the road with; other cars, vans, lorries, buses, bikes, motorbikes, pedestrians. And now think who those people are. They're not just "other" people, they're mums, dads, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, wives, friends, family. Give them a name. Give them their names. They're your friends, your family. And now consider your life if they weren't there. If you make it personal it becomes even more difficult to turn away from it and think, it's okay, it's only me and it won't happen to me anyway. I'm not saying it will. But hey, if we all take our foot off the gas and become more aware of the speed we do, the limits of the road and our own skills, then maybe, just maybe, we won't have to worry about that anymore.
There are various courses that you can do that are not a legal requirement but that will enhance your enjoyment of driving and make you safer and more aware. You can find out a lot of it via your local council and police force websites as well as the national ones. (www.gov.uk) And if you want track advice, check out the reviews on www.motorbikestoday.com and search online for companies who organise track days.
Stay safe out there and just COAST along (Concentrate, Observe, Anticipate, give yourself Space and Time)
Cheers y'all.
M
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