Drivers without points for speeding on their licences are becoming a rarity in Britain. And with three points added each time you're zapped, up to a maximum of 12 and an automatic ban, this could be the answer to the traffic congestion problems.
But the Speed Camera Partnerships (SCP) have come up with an idea which could just turn the British into safer drivers. A campaign run by the RAC Foundation and Autocar magazine, and backed by the police, called for an education programme to highlight the dangers of speeding. And half a dozen of the SCPs have responded by initiating driver training programmes.
Now some British motorists have the option of attending a course and avoiding the three points being added to their licence. They still have to pay the £60 (€85) fine which is the course fee, but their licence lives to see another day.
To see what was involved, I joined the Avon and Somerset SCP for one of its half-day Speed Choice courses. The course was held in a local golf club and there were 10 of us sitting, po-faced, in a semi-circle eyeing the tutors, Fran and Bill, with suspicion.
Fran, a former schoolteacher and road safety officer, explained that this was an informal session, and that nobody was waving "the waggy finger". "This is not a schoolroom because, hands on heart, probably nobody can say they have never broken a speed limit. But you have been caught at lower levels."
At present, courses are only being run for drivers clocked doing over the 30 mph limit, but under 40 mph. "Two-thirds of all motorists caught are low-end speeders - between 30 and 40 mph," explained Nisha Devani, who is in charge of the education programme.
There are plans to extend the programme to include those caught exceeding the limit in the 40, 50 and 60mph zones. The Avon and Somerset partnership runs 10 half-day courses every week, while some other groups opt for one-and-a-half-day sessions which include a drive with an advanced instructor.
"We decided to go for the half-day, so that we could give more people the chance to attend, and we've had 5,000 motorists on our courses since we started last April," says Ms Devani. After the introductions, we split into pairs and asked each other about our convictions, and how we felt when the unwelcome letter dropped on the mat. And then we had to tell the class about our partner's sins - a good ploy as it immediately made us bond and removed the element of self-confession.
Almost all felt angry that they had been caught, especially as they thought they were within the speed limit - some only being between one and two miles over. One woman in particular was furious because the location on her summons was incorrect. "I phoned and pointed out the error, and was treated in an offhand manner and told they would correct the location." She was also surprised at the 30 mph limit imposed as it wasn't a built-up area.
Others were annoyed at the way they had been caught by mobile cameras which were not obvious, or sited after a bend.
Pete, a van driver who covers between 15 and 20,000 miles every year, was especially miffed. "I was driving through a 40 mph limit and as I drove down a hill and round a bend I was filmed. I felt angry as I didn't see any signs that the limit had changed to 30 mph and I thought I was doing a reasonable speed."
And Barrie, who accepted that he'd broken the limit, was also annoyed, saying that his personal attitude towards speed cameras were that they were a money making scam.
Our tutors listened to our tales of woe with sympathy, and then set about pointing out the error of our ways, and introducing topics to give us food for thought.
They told us that 32 per cent of road crashes were speed-related - not always because people were exceeding the speed limit, but because of inappropriate speed. And highlighted the cost of collisions to the taxpayer from the £16,750 for the non-serious bump which require the services of the police, ambulance and hospital, to the £1,447,490 for a fatal accident.
Bill, an advanced driving instructor, outlined the history of speed cameras and the criteria used in selecting sites, and explained that during the two-year pilot scheme the numbers killed or seriously injured on the roads dropped by 35 per cent. "For me that seems a good reason to have cameras," he said.
We were given four seconds - the time a motorist has to take in info - to look at a picture of a road leading into a village full of driver hazards and asked to name them all. And we watched videos of accidents in a busy street where a child was hit by a car doing 35 mph while our tutors refreshed our memories on stopping distances.
We heard the sobering tale of a busy road with a history of accidents. A camera was placed in a prime position and had acted as a deterrent, preventing serious crashes for three years. Within three days of it being burnt out there was one serious accident and a fatality.
"The cameras are doing their job and the best cameras are those which don't flash because they've done their job well," proclaimed Bill.
At the end of the three hours had anyone gained anything from the session?
"I though it was good. My attitude has changed especially on the safety side. I'll try to concentrate a bit more and to keep within the limits, but 30 mph is very hard to stick to," said Callie who'd been zapped doing 39 mph on a dual carriageway where everyone else was doing the same speed.
And even sceptical Barrie agreed - a bit. "Now the dangers have been spelled out for me I understand, and I agree 99 per cent with the reasons for reducing speeds. But I still think some cameras are placed where they can fetch income."
"Some will go away and it will make no difference to them but 90 per cent take heed," added Fran.
If these courses can prevent adding dreaded points to your licence, they are more than worth setting aside a half-day and are a positive approach in educating drivers.