Hands up, I was caught speeding

My latest brush with the law happened in my native Cheshire and involved me being ‘pinged’ while doing 37mph in a 30mph zone.

Tut-tut, I hear you say, and I would not disagree. I know it is dangerous and anti-social to speed but not many of us can hold our hands up and say we have not crept over the limit now and then.

Anyway, the love letter from the Cheshire Constabulary duly arrived and I was given the options of a Driver Awareness Course, taking the fine and points on my licence, or defending the indefensible in court.

The third option was clearly out so I took the choice of the course, which, as well as educating (never a bad thing), saved me the points on my licence.

Rolling up at Westridge for the four-hour session, run by a couple of non-judging fellas from the IW Fire and Rescue Service, it was interesting to observe at 57 I was not the oldest in the room by any means and far from the clientele being a procession of boy and girl racers, they were, in fact, mainly more mature drivers who blamed time pressure or lack of concentration for their momentary blip.

Many of us admitted we had not had any driving training since we passed our driving test 30 or 40 years ago and were piloting modern, faster cars with little up-to-date training.

We learnt lots during the course, not least the difference between 30mph and 31mph in terms of stopping distance, which could make the difference between life and death for a pedestrian if you hit them.

This was just one facet of a session which made you re-focus on your awareness, observation and concentration on the road; the hazards which surround you and the precautions you can take which will prevent you getting into a jam.

There were also interesting nuggets of information, such as the fact the current advice for cyclists is to ride two abreast to protect themselves from drivers getting too close.

On the thorny question of the older driver,

I don’t want to get ageist about it but given the recent example of a colleague being seriously injured by an older driver who lost control of their automatic car, there is definitely a case for a fresh look at the regulation of older drivers and the possibility of re-testing.

As I have already said, I am clearly no angel on the highway and when I get to 70, think I could reasonably expect someone to check whether I am a fit and proper person to be piloting a one-tonne chunk of metal around the roads of the Island.