I would like also to be able to say that I've never broken the speed limit in my life either – but after attending a South Yorkshire Speed Awareness Course I realised to my shock that I had been doing it a lot. All over Sheffield. For years.

Because like many drivers I have been paying perhaps less attention than I should to speed limits, and making assumptions about what they were.

What would you say is the speed limit on Chesterfield Road? Or on the Netherthorpe Road section of the Inner Ring Road? Or on much of Abbeydale Road?

Fairly wide arterial roads. Must be 40, eh? No, actually they are all 30mph. But to watch the majority of the cars that drive along them, either the drivers don't know, or they don't care.

Speeding was a contributory factor in at least a quarter of the 71 deaths, which included eight children, on South Yorkshire's roads in 2006.

Figures also reveal that 555 people were seriously injured, 835 pedestrians were hurt and there were more than 6,200 smashes in 2006.
And so in the past few years police forces around the country have come to the view that a new tactic was needed.

What do you think? Post your comment below.

South Yorkshire Police is one of 12 forces out of 44 around the country to offer Speed Awareness Courses, which are open to motorists who are caught speeding just a few miles per hour over the limit.

The programme, which is available in Sheffield, Barnsley and Doncaster, has been run on a weekly basis by driver training specialists the TTC Group since last October.

Drivers pay to attend the one-day course instead of the normal £60 fixed penalty but avoid having any points added to their licences.
In South Yorkshire the courses cost £60, but they can cost up to £90 elsewhere.

And those caught driving excessively over the speed limit can't do the course and must take the points instead.

The whole idea is to try to change people's mentality and make motorists into safer drivers.

The Speed Awareness Course I attended was held at the Centre in the Park in Norfolk Heritage Park. There were 21 of us, another turned up an hour late and was told she would have to rearrange. One didn't turn up at all.

The first thing you notice is the age profile. Of the 21 people in the room, two thirds could have been described as middle-aged. There were around two men for every woman. Only two could reasonably have been described as 'boy-racers'.

The lessons can vary according to where you take them. Some might include using driving simulators to improve a person's ability to spot hazards and judge speed.

Most will include useful tips on how to avoid speeding in the future, such as selecting third gear in a 30mph limit, and also saying the speed limit aloud as the driver passes the sign to fix it in the mind.
In rural areas having your main beam on rather than a dipped beam can also help.

Drivers also have to confront the notion that going too fast can be potentially fatal – both for you and for other road users.

Courses can vary in length too – some can be six hours long but South Yorkshire's is a relatively painless two-and-a-half hours.

Each one in the class began by explaining where they were caught speeding and why they were exceeding the limit.

Michelle Hudson, aged 42, a driving instructor from Wincobank, was my course tutor. As a highest-ranked level 6 instructor she was approached by the training company to help deliver the courses.

She said Carlisle Street, Halifax Road and Penistone Road were among the roads where a lot of speeders were caught.

Michelle added: "Some people attend thinking it will be all about them being told off by police for speeding. But once they realise that it is all very informal they relax and start to enjoy it.

"Some people do think that it is just a money-making exercise, but most seem to like the fact they are getting something back from South Yorkshire Police."

Most areas of the UK are now covered by speed awareness courses. It means that the driver from Buxton attending the course I did, who had been caught near Preston while going to watch his grandson play rugby, could opt to take the course nearer home.

A national register is kept of those taking the courses and motorists are only allowed to take one every three years – the length of time that penalty points remain on a driving licence.

If there are two key messages the course tries to hammer home it is these: that streetlights mean the speed limit is 30mph, unless there are signs telling you otherwise, and secondly, that 80 per cent of pedestrians hit by a car travelling at 40mph will die – at 30mph 80 per cent will live.

Try it yourself. Drive down a Sheffield road with streetlights – in other words nearly all of them. And look for signs telling you the speed limit. Don't see any? Well then it's 30mph. How fast have you been driving down it?

According to Michelle the excuses given to policemen by speeding motorists range from the banal 'I didn't realise the limit was 30mph' to the bizarre 'I really wanted to meet a policeman' to the unbelievable 'I have a body in the boot that I am hurrying to dispose of'.

One 37-year-old company director, from Brinsworth, Rotherham, said: "I thought it was brilliant. I had never been caught before. Some of the things we did I never knew, like the difference it can make if you hit a person at 30mph instead of 40mph."

A 48-year-old housewife, from Dore, said: "I was going down Chesterfield Road when I was caught. I didn't even realise I was speeding until I got the letter. I never would have known in a million years it was 30mph. I was in a bit of a rush as I had to pick up my daughter. I know better now."

Some aspects of the course could have been better. For instance I felt it was a bit unnecessary that the form handed out to everyone attending the course listed some people's names under the heading 'Problems with reading and writing'. A little insensitive I felt.

But on the whole it was very useful in increasing our awareness of what the limit should be on any given road.

TTC Group joint director Graham Wynn praised South Yorkshire Police for introducing the education scheme. He said: "In a recent survey most drivers said they believed speeding is a problem, but only 10 per cent admitted they do it.

"By alerting motorists to the dangers on our increasingly busy roads we can help to ensure that they are a safer place for both pedestrians and drivers."

For more information visit www.ttc-uk.com or phone 0845 2704363.


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