Average price of a course is £88.90
UPDATE 1 December 2022 – we have been asked by Essex County Council to point out that its fee is currently £90 and has been for a number of years.
There are big differences in what drivers can expect to pay for speed awareness courses depending on where they live.
Analysis by the Press Association of data from the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) shows that speeding motorists attending courses in Northamptonshire pay £75, while those attending in Essex will pay 32% more (£99).
The average across the country is £88.90.
In 2016, 1.18 million people went on a speed awareness course in the UK.
NDORS now runs eight retraining courses altogether. In 2016, the total number of attendees across all courses was 1.39 million.
The Press Association study also showed that the amount police forces receive from each course jumped from £35 to £45 last month. This money is described as a cost-recovery fee and goes towards paying for fees associated with administering the courses.
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said:
“Most people attending speed awareness courses sing their praises but what they might not realise is the postcode lottery they face in terms of the costs involved.
“Surely there is no other part of the criminal justice system where fines and penalties vary by as much as a third across the country?
“Intuitively, people would expect to pay a fixed price for doing wrong, not an arrangement that offers rewards for shopping around or penalises partly because of where people live.”
ENDS
Contacts:
Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation
020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | [email protected] | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN)
Notes to editors:
The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist.
The RAC Foundation is a registered charity, number 1002705.
All the Foundation’s work is available on its website: