MP gears up for speed awareness course

Labour MP Peter Pike will take the driving seat on Lancashire County Council's Speed Awareness course in an attempt to find out why drivers speed. The Burnley MP was offered a place on the road safety course for December after being caught driving at 36mph in a 30mph zone.

A new policy commissioned by chief constable Paul Stephenson in June means that drivers are cautioned if caught travelling at 35mph in a 30mph zone, offered the driver training course at 36mph and 37mph and given a fixed penalty at 38mph or above.

The one-day course consists of both classroom-based activities and in-car training, and over 27,000 motorists have improved their driving skills since the course was launched in November 2001.

"Last year there were 74 fatal, 802 serious and 5172 slight injuries on the county's roads," said Neil Cunliffe, Lancashire's road safety group manager. "The probability of being involved in a collision rises significantly with small increases in speed. Initiatives such as the Speed Awareness course are helping to make people more aware of the dangers of excess speed and its effects."