Week 47. Uh Oh, Part 2
National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme course
If Uh Oh (Week 34) was about the sting of realising I had made a mistake, Uh Oh, Part 2 is about what comes next. For me, that next step was attending a speed awareness course, something I suspect many drivers approach with a mixture of irritation, anxiety, and mild resentment. I went in with fairly low expectations. I came out pleasantly surprised.
For anyone wondering what actually happens on these courses, the reality is far less dramatic than imagination might suggest. The structure was clear from the outset, the expectations were explained, and the course ran broadly within the advertised timeframe. There were no surprises, no attempt to shame or lecture participants, and no sense of being treated as a “criminal”. Instead, it felt more like a structured educational session designed to prompt reflection rather than punishment.
The instructor was polite and professional throughout. He conducted the course exactly as we had been told he would, and that made the experience feel fair. Time passed relatively quickly, which I think says a lot about the way the content was delivered. It was engaging enough to hold attention, and practical enough to feel relevant. While I didn’t take notes detailed enough to quote chapter and verse, some of the concepts discussed stayed with me. One that stood out was the idea of a hierarchy of harm in road traffic regulation, the notion that speed is not simply about numbers on a dial, but about the level of risk imposed on others. The faster you go, the less margin there is for error, and the greater the potential harm when things go wrong.
There was also a brief historical reference to early Highway Code principles, including the so-called “street lighting rule” from the 1930s, which was an interesting reminder that speed regulation has always evolved alongside technology, infrastructure, and societal expectations. In that sense, the course wasn’t just about modern driving, it placed current rules within a longer regulatory history.
One point that did catch my attention was a discussion around emerging technologies, including AI-assisted facial recognition and behavioural analysis used in enforcement contexts. While this was only touched upon briefly, it raised broader questions for me, particularly around data protection and proportionality. I don’t drink alcohol, so I have no personal stake in debates about detecting impairment. However, the idea that increasingly sophisticated technology may monitor or analyse millions of drivers, most of whom are driving lawfully, does raise legitimate ethical questions. Where is the line between public safety and mass data collection? How is that data stored, who has access to it, and how long is it retained? These are not questions the course sought to answer, but they are ones worth asking as enforcement becomes more technologically advanced.
The cost of the course is also worth mentioning. In practical terms, it is broadly equivalent to the fixed penalty fine it replaces. That inevitably raises an uncomfortable question: is this education, punishment, or revenue generation? The state, after all, is funded by the public, and when criminal or quasi-criminal processes generate income, scrutiny is both healthy and necessary. That said, I do not leave this experience feeling exploited. On balance, I felt I gained more from the course than I would have from simply paying a fine and moving on. It prompted reflection, and encouraged a more conscious approach to driving, outcomes that align with the stated purpose of such schemes.
Final Reflections
Ultimately, attending the speed awareness course felt constructive rather than punitive. It did not erase the mistake that led me there, but it did provide perspective, and an opportunity to learn from it. For anyone approaching one of these courses with dread or frustration, my experience suggests it is worth engaging with it openly. You may well leave with more than you expected, not just about speed limits, but about responsibility, regulation, and the balance between enforcement and education.
