Join for free
Page 1 of 8 1 2 3 > Last »
Realist
Chatterbox
Realist is offline
UK
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 9,184
Realist is male  Realist has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
18-07-2018, 06:46 PM
1

The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

So, it's been many many years since I got done for speeding, probably 25 to 30 years in fact. Got caught about 4 weeks ago in a 30mph zone early in the morning around 7.15am. No other cars on the road ahead or behind.

No pedestrians whatsoever and certainly no kids.

Pavements both sides of the road.

Speed van sitting in a layby clocking people quite happily.

I've been offered a National Speed Awareness Course (NSAC) which will cost me £90.

It's in lieu of any prosecution or points on my license of course but it's a fine line whether it is worth doing the course or taking the points.

Stats state that last year well over 1 million motorists attended NSACs which means £90 milllion was nicely finding its way into someone's pockets.

Approx £35 from every course goes to the police, the rest go to these fat cats running this lucrative exploitation racket.

Let me make a prediction here. We are ALL going to see a HUGE ramp up in these detector vans because this very very lucrative racket has a VERY limited life span.

I say this because at the moment MOST insurance companies only ask you if you've had any convictions or accidents in the last 5 years. If you took an NSAC then you didn't get a conviction so you can happily say No to the insurance company.

HOWEVER . . . .

Some insurance companies have already clocked on to this and now ask if you have been on an NSAC and if so, they treat that just the same as a speeding ticket and load your premium accordingly. At this time the Admiral Group of insurance companies are doing this.

Faced with that there is really no point at all in attending an NSAC because it's going to cost you pretty much the same amount (£90 NSAC vs £100 fine) and your insurance premium is going to go up regardless.

Thus right now, people WILL choose an NSAC because right now most insurance companies are not asking you to declare if you have been on one. But the moment they do all start asking that question, is the moment when this lucrative NSAC business will die out overnight except for a few straggler courses.

Points on your licence are meaningless until and unless you rack up 6 to 9 points. Yes, at that point you'd take an NSAC if odffered one to avoid reaching 12 pts and losing your license but otherwise who cares if you have 3 points on your licence?!

So we are currently in a definitive period. A period in which these NSAC companies (who are all private BTW, nothing to do with the police) are making hay whilst the sun shines, but literally in 1 to 2 years I would say, the insurance companies are all going to start asking people to declare if they've been on NSACs and at that point it is Game Over for these private companies, because there will be no reason or incentive for people to pay them £90 to sit in a 4 hour lecture any more. This being the case we can expect these private companies to make the very most of the next 1 to 2 years. There will be an increasing number of vans patrolling all the well known lucrative spots, at the bottom of hills, around corners and so on.

We will need to be very much on our guard to avoid being picked off by these parasites.

Understand that people are being caught at 31 mph in 30mph zones. These private firms do not care. Cameras do not take into account the myriad of circumstances involved in driving. They are one dimensional and emotionless. Every car caught over the limit, however small, is another £90 in the bank.

It is a very lucrative business !
Primus1's Avatar
Primus1
Senior Member
Primus1 is offline
York
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 4,648
Primus1 is male  Primus1 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
18-07-2018, 10:11 PM
2

Re: The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

Yeah it’s a real pain with these camera vans, who follow the letter of the law and not police the roads like traffic cops used to, much easier when you may get pulled for speeding and receive some friendly advice and be on your way, but not with a van who are just there to make money,
Longdogs's Avatar
Longdogs
Chatterbox
Longdogs is offline
SW England
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 43,957
Longdogs is male  Longdogs has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
18-07-2018, 10:14 PM
3

Re: The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

You still get fined even if you take the course which goes to prove it's all about the money.
Mel15
Senior Member
Mel15 is offline
Nowhere
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 3,269
Mel15 is female  Mel15 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
18-07-2018, 10:19 PM
4

Re: The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

I never got offered the course , just got the 3 points and the £60 fine

The points stayed for five years but thankfully my insurance company ignored them and I never got an increase in premiums
Realist
Chatterbox
Realist is offline
UK
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 9,184
Realist is male  Realist has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
18-07-2018, 10:59 PM
5

Re: The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

Originally Posted by Longdogs ->
You still get fined even if you take the course which goes to prove it's all about the money.
No that's not true. The NSAC if it is offered is in place of being fined/convicted. If you complete the NSAC satisfactorily then no fine, no points, no conviction. However the cost of the NSAC itself is about the same as a fine so money wise, yep, comparable, but it's not a fine.
Realist
Chatterbox
Realist is offline
UK
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 9,184
Realist is male  Realist has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
18-07-2018, 11:01 PM
6

Re: The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

Originally Posted by Missy ->
I never got offered the course , just got the 3 points and the £60 fine

The points stayed for five years but thankfully my insurance company ignored them and I never got an increase in premiums
There's no automatic offering of an NSAC. It depends on various things.

The amount you were speeding by is one factor. If you are in a 30mph zone then if you're doing 42mph or over you will not get offered an NSAC.

If you've previously been on an NSAC in the last 3 years you also won't get offered one.
Longdogs's Avatar
Longdogs
Chatterbox
Longdogs is offline
SW England
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 43,957
Longdogs is male  Longdogs has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
18-07-2018, 11:02 PM
7

Re: The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

Originally Posted by Realist ->
No that's not true. The NSAC if it is offered is in place of being fined/convicted. If you complete the NSAC satisfactorily then no fine, no points, no conviction.
Has that changed in recent years? I seem to remember my Dad having to pay the fine as well as attending the course. I might be remembering that wrongly.
Mel15
Senior Member
Mel15 is offline
Nowhere
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 3,269
Mel15 is female  Mel15 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
18-07-2018, 11:12 PM
8

Re: The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

Originally Posted by Realist ->
There's no automatic offering of an NSAC. It depends on various things.

The amount you were speeding by is one factor. If you are in a 30mph zone then if you're doing 42mph or over you will not get offered an NSAC.

If you've previously been on an NSAC in the last 3 years you also won't get offered one.

I was done for 47 in a 40 and never had a ticket before

I don't usually speed, I was driving the coast road which is mostly 60 and just didn't realise I was coming in to a village boundary
Bruce's Avatar
Bruce
Chatterbox
Bruce is offline
Wollongong, Australia
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 15,218
Bruce is male  Bruce has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
18-07-2018, 11:34 PM
9

Re: The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

Cruise control is your best friend.

No excuse for speeding especially at our age when speed limits are no longer the challenge they once were.
Realist
Chatterbox
Realist is offline
UK
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 9,184
Realist is male  Realist has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
19-07-2018, 08:57 AM
10

Re: The Multi Million Pound Speeding Business

Originally Posted by Longdogs ->
Has that changed in recent years? I seem to remember my Dad having to pay the fine as well as attending the course. I might be remembering that wrongly.
It's quite possible it HAS changed. What might have started out as an initiative to educate drivers is now just a multi million pound business.

It's a clear colaboration between ruthless private firms running courses and the police forces who get their nice cut of the profits.

It's in both their interests to keep that gravy train running as long as possible. It has nothing whatsoever to do with driver re education.
 
Page 1 of 8 1 2 3 > Last »

Thread Tools


© Copyright 2009, Over50sForum   Contact Us | Over 50s Forum! | Archive | Privacy Statement | Terms of Use | Top

Powered by vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.