MOTORISTS caught speeding on East Yorkshire roads are being shown leniency and avoiding penalty points and fines, the Mail can reveal.
Under new rules, those caught travelling at speeds of up to 42mph in a 30mph zone and 75mph on a country road, may be offered a place on a course, costing £95, to educate them about the dangers.
Previously, the formula used to determine eligibility for a course run by Safer Roads Humber was the speed limit, plus ten per cent and two to six miles per hour.
But the Mail can reveal the criteria has now increased to ten per cent of the speed limit plus two to nine miles per hour.
Mick Harris, partnership manager for Safer Roads Humber, which operates East Yorkshire's speed cameras, said the courses can be more effective than fines and points.
He said: "It is better to educate people than it is to punish them, at least in the first instance.
"The course gives them the opportunity to change their behaviour.
"It is not about pointing the finger and telling them they've been naughty, it is about making them aware of the potential consequences of speeding and what difference it makes if they are involved in a collision. It makes them think."
Figures for 2011 – the most recent statistics available – show 36,336 drivers were caught speeding across the area covered by Safer Roads Humber, a slight increase on the previous year.
Of those, 19,200 went on a speed awareness course, generating £1.8m for Safer Roads Humber's campaigns and the costs of running the courses.
A further 13,573 drivers received a £60 fine and three penalty points. That generated £814,380, which goes to the Treasury.
Mr Harris said the rise in the threshold does not give drivers a licence to speed.
"It would be dangerous and unwise to make the assumption that now you can drive at 40mph without being prosecuted," he said.
"The courses are subject to conditions and, if a driver is stopped by a traffic officer, they may use their discretion to say that a course isn't appropriate.
"This might be the case if they are travelling at high speeds outside a school or hospital."
The new thresholds mean drivers travelling up to 53mph in a 40mph zone, 64mph in a 50mph area or 75 in a 60mph zone could, in theory, be offered the course.
Drivers are only offered the courses if they have not already been on one in the past three years.
Anyone who commits other crimes at the same time as speeding, such as driving without a licence or insurance, will still be taken to court.
PC Keith Ward, Humberside Police casualty reduction officer for Hull, said: "Within certain thresholds, diversion schemes, such as the speed awareness course, are available.
"Traffic officers produce an offence report and then submit it to the central ticket office, which decides what action to take and whether that will include the course.
"However, sometimes there can be no choice but to take a driver to court."
Stephen Meara-Blount lost his younger brother, Tony, to a speeding drink-driver who was travelling at 65mph in a 30mph zone in 2006.
Mr Meara-Blount, 54, said: "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to stick to the speed limit.
"That small difference in speed could be the difference between injuring someone and killing them.
"It's wrong to give motorists any leeway at all, these are qualified drivers who should not be going over the limit at all.
Safety campaigners and charities have said they support the courses when they are used correctly.
Franki Hackett, campaigns officer at the charity Brake, said: "Speed awareness courses are evidenced to be effective at reducing re-offending for speeding, so Brake supports them when used for first-time offenders.
"Speeding makes crashes more likely and more serious, and causes a huge amount of heartache each year, so it is vital we use evidenced methods to stamp it out for good.
"It is vital drivers understand the difference speeding even a little over the limit can make and commit to stay well within speed limits, to keep themselves and everyone else safe."
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) advises forces to offer courses when drivers are travelling at ten per cent over the speed limit plus two to six miles per hour – less than the threshold in Humberside.
A spokesman for ACPO said: "The guidelines are only for forces to consider and it is permissible to have some minor variation."
