Rocketing financial income from “driver awareness” courses in Dorset.

DorsetSpeed has found that the income generated from driver awareness courses is rising steeply. A combination of increasing numbers of drivers being offered the course, and sharply rising course cost (£60 to £100 over the last 2 years) means that nearly £2 million will be collected for courses run in Dorset this year.

And because the money paid is not a “speeding fine”, it does not disappear into government black-holes, the money, according to the Dorset Police Authority, is used to fund the courses. But 20,000 works out at about 80 people on the course every working day! So they are now collecting about £8,000 a day. Even if they had to hire conference facilities, I found venues for hire for about £200. 5 staff at £200 a day (generous) would be £1000. Materials, refreshments, etc perhaps £15 a head. That would work out at £30 per person. Charging more than 3 times this proves that it’s the money which is the main concern, I’m amazed that they can even get away with it – is there not a requirement for such charges to be proportionate and reasonable?

I’ve not been on one of these courses but I presume there’s Champaign and smoked salmon sandwiches on tap if they cost this much to run. Clearly there are either staggering inefficiencies or a huge surplus of cash remaining.

This seems very convenient as the rules changed in 2007 preventing local authorities from access to the proceeds from speeding fines etc. due to the concern about optimisation of activities to raise cash! Didn’t take them long to work around that one.

Now perhaps it is easier to see the motivation behind operations like the greed on green camera in Poole. The only argument I’ve ever had back from the DFT on this is that it can’t be about local authorities raising money as all the money goes to government. No it doesn’t! The potentially good “no excuses” campaign also seems to have been optimised for maximum count of trivial offences, rather than the less immediately financially rewarding work of removing properly dangerous drivers from the road.

And we still have no apparent proper policing on the roads, and we still have, far to frequently, mad driving and the inevitable tragic news items about terrible accidents, injuries and deaths.

I say yet again, we need efficient modern road safety methods that work, largely based on traffic cops looking for dangerous drivers, and newer technologies, not these disgraceful moneymaking efforts.

Could Dorset Road Safe please correct this highly misleading misinformation on their website:

8.  IS HOLE’S BAY A “GREED ON GREEN” CAMERA 

Contrary to recent publications by anti-camera websites and individuals, if a fine is paid by an offender for exceeding the speed threshold at Hole’s Bay or any other camera site the money goes to the Treasury Consolidated Fund, the fine paid does not and never has gone to the DSCP or the relevant council.   

 
Income from Driver Awareness courses in Dorset