How To Pass The Speed Awareness Driving Test

Last Updated: 10/05/2022

The Speed Awareness Course is offered as an alternative to a speeding fine and penalty points.

The course looks at the reasons why people drive over the speed limit and how speeding can have catastrophic consequences for other road users and the driver themselves.

The course is part of the National Speed Awareness Scheme which encourages a change in attitude towards the use of excessive or inappropriate speeds on UK roads.

Courses are run by a range of training providers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Information of course locations can be found in the ‘further resources’ section at the bottom of the page.

You will need your driving licence number to book a place.

What You Will Learn

To help get you prepared for this test, we have put together this useful guide which will give you the guidance you will need so you can pass the test with confidence.

  • Step-By-Step Guide
  • Hints & Tips
  • Video Demonstration
  • Useful Information
  • Final Thoughts
  • Further Resources

Step-By-Step Guide

  • Courses can be attended at a range of local venues across the country.
  • When you receive a letter from the police relating to your speeding offence, you will be given a website on which you can select your nearest venue.
  • This is actually useful because if you were a long way from home and in a different county, you wouldn’t have been caught by your local police force. Thankfully, you are able to sit the course closest to you and not have to travel back to the region in which the offence took place.
  • You can choose a date and time that is convenient for you, including evenings and weekends.
  • You can book your speed awareness course online or by telephone. Details for how to book will be in your letter/paperwork that you receive from the police.
  • No driving is required during the course. It’s purely classroom-based.
  • You cannot pass or fail the speed awareness course. You must simply attend and take part.
  • Sitting a speed awareness course can help you to avoid a speeding fine, points on your licence or attendance at court.
  • Sitting the course can actually be very beneficial. It helps you to increase your understanding of the road and the driver’s responsibilities. Many drivers say that they benefited from the course.

Hints & Tips

The speed awareness courses are not something you can do within an hour or so.

They’re a form of punishment which are built into driver education, so expect a 3-4 hour course.

If you arrive late for your course then you are likely to be refused entry.

If this happens you will be reported to the police as having failed to show.

You can then expect fines and points on your licence.

Video Demonstration

Useful Information

‘Speeding courses’ are offered nationwide and many are part of the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

Drivers are usually offered these as an alternative to penalty points if they have been caught speeding.

However, if you’re speeding excessively, you may not be offered a course.

Additionally, the speed awareness courses are usually only available once every three years.

Therefore, if you’re caught speeding again within three years of your speed awareness course, then you will likely be issued with points on your licence.

The courses are interactive sessions in which drivers are required to get involved and take part.

Drivers will be often split into groups to do some group work, often identifying hazards or speeding issues from video footage before presenting their findings back to the group.

Regardless of how you got your speeding ticket and whether you think it was fair or not, the speed awareness course is not the time or place to contest it.

The educators who lead the course will be from a driver training company which has been contracted to deliver the course by the police.

They are not an extension of the police and so cannot have any say or impact on driving punishments that you have been issued.

They have no power in these situations and will not be familiar with your circumstances.

The best way to look at the course is like you’re attending a course for your work.

You have no choice and it is being delivered by professionals.

By attending a speed awareness course you are potentially avoiding having penalty points added to your driving licence.

As we have already stated above, if you are late or fail to attend your car, the educators have to report this back to the police and you will then be punished.

You can end up in a worse position than if you’d have accepted the original fine and points.

Final Thoughts

Many drivers caught speeding are opting to complete the Speed Awareness Course rather than pay the fine.

This not only ensures that points on your licence are avoided but encourages the driver to alter their attitude towards speeding and understand the devastation that this behaviour can cause to others on the road.

Further Resources