Last Friday I wrote that police have more than doubled the amount they collect from running speed awareness courses since 2010.
It also appears that police are so keen to sell these courses, that they are conning motorists by failing to make clear how drivers could inadvertently leave themselves uninsured by taking part in them.
The Telegraph reports that insurers have admitted they treat speed awareness courses the same as penalty points, and it is now feared that failing to declare taking part in course could invalidate drivers' policies.
The courses, which cost between £80 and £150, allow drivers to avoid penalty points on their licences. However, campaigners claim that this lulls many motorists into a false sense of
security that they do not have to declare the course to insurers, in the
hope their premiums will not rocket for a speeding-related offence.
However, insurers usually operate a “catch all” clause in their policies about keeping them informed about factors which may affect your driving, and failing to declare a course could lead them to cancel cover in the event of an accident, experts said.
Ian Belchamber, a campaigner who runs an anti-speed camera campaign in Dorset, said:
An NPCC spokesman said Suzette Davenport, the chief constable of Gloucestershire Police, sits on the board of the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS), which registered a £44 million turnover last year for providing safety awareness courses.
A director of NDORS is Meredydd Hughes, the former chief constable of South Yorkshire, who was responsible for road policing at Acpo until he was caught speeding at 90mph in a 60mph zone in 2007, and stepped down from the role.
He is also a director of another company in the sector, Road Safety Support.
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However, insurers usually operate a “catch all” clause in their policies about keeping them informed about factors which may affect your driving, and failing to declare a course could lead them to cancel cover in the event of an accident, experts said.
Ian Belchamber, a campaigner who runs an anti-speed camera campaign in Dorset, said:
The Telegraph can confirm that two companies set up with close links to the now-defunct Association of Chief Police Officers are now entwined with the organisation’s successor, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC).“The police’s actions are potentially resulting in people driving uninsured because they haven’t told motorists to tell their insurers about the speed awareness course.I would make sure your insurer knows you’ve been on a course regardless of whether they specifically ask for that information.If you are involved in an accident and the insurer looks into your history and sees you’ve been on a speeding course they could say ‘You didn’t tell us about this, you’re not covered’.The police don’t want people to know this because they make a lot of money out of the courses.”
An NPCC spokesman said Suzette Davenport, the chief constable of Gloucestershire Police, sits on the board of the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS), which registered a £44 million turnover last year for providing safety awareness courses.
A director of NDORS is Meredydd Hughes, the former chief constable of South Yorkshire, who was responsible for road policing at Acpo until he was caught speeding at 90mph in a 60mph zone in 2007, and stepped down from the role.
He is also a director of another company in the sector, Road Safety Support.
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I didn't know either of those two things..
ReplyDeletea) The police benefit from the fines.
b) Insurers need to know.
http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/driver-picks-up-100-speeding-fine-while-his-car-is-parked-up-outside-a-chinese-takeaway-11364015761953
The above is precisely the reason a photo should be sent in the post along with the fine, or at least a link where the photo can be downloaded.
Just renewed my road tax. Notice folks, how it (still) says "your application has been successful". This is *not* the same as "your road tax has been renewed". Do I really have to do a "pdf" print of every stage & keep it in my glove-box, less plod/dvla screw up?