The speed awareness course makes no mention of cyclists

shouldbeinbed
shouldbeinbed Posts: 2,660
edited August 2011 in Campaign
bear with me I'm just putting a marker down and chasing up a link or two I'll come back and edit this asap

been on a speed awareness course today (no excuses and all abuse accepted) Sold totally as road awareness and safety - how you can moderate and adapt yourself to be a safer and more considerate driver.

4 hours long, less than 5 minutes speaking about motorbikes, pedestrians got a bare mention in a hazard perction video and absolutely no mention of cyclists at all.

I queried this and was told its a national course put together by psychologists and regularly reviewed and revised & that it would need representation at this level to push for change.

I'm going to put my thinking down on it and would welcome experessions of support on here to form a kind of petition to show its not just one lone crank banging on about pushbikes when I raise this with Drivesafe and others than can assist with representation.

Comments

  • dilemna
    dilemna Posts: 2,187
    The f**kwit moton who knocked me down 5 months ago was sent on one of these. The cops sold it to me as road safety orientated. Your post does not surprise me, in fact nothing surprises me any more. I wanted the f**kwit moton who knocked me down prosecuted for driving with out due care and attention, but the cops refused saying the road safety course was a better option. My arse. The Government, cops and the CPS merely want to keep costs down. It is a far cheaper option for motons to be sent on this type of course than being taken to court, being fined and being given points on their license. The authroities don't give a sh1t about road safety for pedestrians or cyclists indicated by the lack of any mention of it on the course you attended. All they want to do is administer justice on the cheap.

    BTW shouldbeinbed - SLOW DOWN! Has the course improved your behaviour when driving your car on the roads? Are you more cautious and considerate to others?
    Life is like a roll of toilet paper; long and useful, but always ends at the wrong moment. Anon.
    Think how stupid the average person is.......
    half of them are even more stupid than you first thought.
  • tarquin_foxglove
    tarquin_foxglove Posts: 554
    dilemna wrote:
    I wanted the f**kwit moton who knocked me down prosecuted for driving with out due care and attention, but the cops refused saying the road safety course was a better option. My ars*. The Government, cops and the CPS merely want to keep costs down. It is a far cheaper option for motons to be sent on this type of course than being taken to court, being fined and being given points on their license. The authroities don't give a sh1t about road safety for pedestrians or cyclists indicated by the lack of any mention of it on the course you attended. All they want to do is administer justice on the cheap.

    It's only going to get worse...
  • jellybellywmb
    jellybellywmb Posts: 1,379
    The only mention of cyclists on the one I went on was when asked to identify 10 hazards in the photo. one of which turned out to be a cyclist!!

    I raised the point that the car drivers are the hazard not the cyclist I was told not to casues trouble, so I left and took three points instead .
    "BEER" Proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy
  • shouldbeinbed
    shouldbeinbed Posts: 2,660
    I sent a long but courteous response to drivesafe as part of their reuested feedback and asked for contact info for people higher up the food chain and in charge of putting the course content together to discuss it directly

    nothing in return.

    I will be seeing my local MP at the next surgery with the text I sent so I can get to to take it up that way & see if it makes any difference. I am still astonished and angry at such a blatant missed opportunity to educate about the danger to (and from) cyclists, but primarily to!
  • lardarce
    lardarce Posts: 10
    what a money making racket this is!

    my wife went on one, 25 people paying £65 each (more in come counties) twice a day while some "expert" chunners away and the other hands out forms, operates video etc.

    where is all that money going?
  • spen666
    spen666 Posts: 17,709
    lardarce wrote:
    what a money making racket this is!

    my wife went on one, 25 people paying £65 each (more in come counties) twice a day while some "expert" chunners away and the other hands out forms, operates video etc.

    where is all that money going?
    no one forced your wife or any other criminal to go on the course.

    she had the choice initially to obey the law. She chose to break it, leaving her with a choice of paying for this course or going to court. She chose to pay for the course

    I have no sympathy with her or you
    Want to know the Spen666 behind the posts?
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  • ex-pat scot
    ex-pat scot Posts: 939
    Harsh but true Spen
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  • lardarce
    lardarce Posts: 10
    Did I ask for sympathy mother teresa?

    She took the course instead of points, 37 mph on a 4 lane road, a real criminal.

    In your rush to spout your sanctimonious reply you miss the point, i.e. £3200 per day for 2 people and a small industrial unit to run this (pretty poor by all account) correctional facility.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,539
    Doesn't really conspiracy matter where the money goes as it is about the same as the fine in any case. I assume that as with fines it is put back into safety partnership funds.
  • Xommul
    Xommul Posts: 251
    Hi There,

    If anyone else were to get knocked down and police refused to take punitive action i would do the following.

    A) Take their shoulder numbers and write to the chief of police for their county and make a formal complaint. Dont forget to get all reference numbers. You will very quickly get those officers to stick the driver on. Too many officers get lazy.

    B) Prosecute the motorist personally using a legal claims adviser.

    I would also suggest that all riders get some form of accident/legal/life cover which would make point B much easier.

    Xom
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  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    lardarce wrote:
    Did I ask for sympathy mother teresa?

    She took the course instead of points, 37 mph on a 4 lane road, a real criminal.
    Irrelevant, it's a 30mph limit for a reason. She was speeding, she knew she was speeding. End of.

    In your rush to spout your sanctimonious reply you miss the point, i.e. £3200 per day for 2 people and a small industrial unit to run this (pretty poor by all account) correctional facility.
    £3200 per day isn't there to run the course. It's essentially part of the punichment and goes towards traffic safety measures / initiatives. So ineffect, your second point is irrelevant.

    Bottom line. Suck it up, she was in the wrong and got caught.
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
  • shouldbeinbed
    shouldbeinbed Posts: 2,660
    Bang on Spen & Matt : I've no grievance about mine, did wrong, got caught, take the consequences & learn from it. I could have my whinge about the time and place I was caught compared to the days & times the accidents triggering the placing of the camera but why? it was there, I knew it was there, I made a mistake. end of.

    still nothing from the useless Drivesafe but as a more general thing and to Dilemma paticularly. Yes it has slowed me down and made me think more like a newly qualified driver again than a jaded bored old hand that had slipped into bad habits.

    If I'd paid the same money and taken the points it probably wouldn't have had the same overall effect, i'd have just been more careful near gatsos.
  • mouth
    mouth Posts: 1,195
    Money making course? £3200? The Government would make more letting you take the points, your premium rise and in line with the premium, VAT and premium tax you'd pay. I bet it's close in monetary value as far as income for David Cameron is concerned.

    I've said it before and I will say it again and again: There is no such thing as an accident, only a collision caused by someone who didn't plan their actions correctly.

    BTW I agree with the sentiment that the car driver is the hazard, but so is the cyclist/pedestrian.
    The only disability in life is a poor attitude.

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