CHESTER, England, September 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Over 70 per cent of drivers caught speeding would opt to take the National Speed Awareness course if offered, to avoid penalty points

- A speeding conviction adds on average 17 per cent to the cost of a premium

With hefty penalties in place for those who are convicted of speeding, research reveals motorists are increasingly opting to take the National Speed Awareness course, if they're given the choice, to avoid paying the £60 fine and three points on their license.

Research from moneysupermarket.com, Britain's number one comparison site, reveals over 26 million motorists (72 per cent) would opt to take the National Speed Awareness course if they were caught speeding and offered it, to avoid paying a £60 penalty and having three points added to their license.^[1] This compares to 16 per cent of motorists who would just accept the fine and points. Over half (53 per cent) claim they would take the course to prevent their insurance premiums going up, and a further 14 per cent would take it as they feel they would learn something from it. On the other hand however, the 12 per cent who would just accept the penalty points and the fine, would do so because it's the quickest resolution.

Pete Harrison, car insurance expert at moneysupermarket.com said: "The National Speed Awareness Course was introduced to give motorists caught speeding the opportunity to re-educate themselves on the effects and dangers involved. By attending the course, motorists will avoid the three points on their license and the £60 fine providing it is either the first time they are caught, or that haven't taken the course within the last three years.

"It's no surprise the course option is proving to be the most popular with motorists. Insurers clearly take a dim view on policy holders who speed and this is reflected in higher car insurance premiums. Motorists can expect to see their premiums rise by around 17 per cent on average for the first offence,^[2] and this will continue to increase the more convictions you get. For repeat offenders, some insurers may even refuse to cover you.

"Not only are motorists who flout the law by speeding risking the lives of other road users and pedestrians as well as their own, they also run the risk of adding to the existing headache of sky high car insurance premiums. My advice to motorists concerned by the cost of their car insurance is to always scour the market for the best deal for your circumstances."

Notes to Editors:

^[1] Research undertaken by Opinium Research based on an online poll of 2,019 UK drivers from 9^th 11^th August 2011. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria. http://www.opiniumresearch.com. According the ONS there are 49,529,000 adults (18+) in the United Kingdom in 2011. According to the research 74% (1489 drivers / sample pop 2019) of UK adults (18+) drive some form of vehicle, therefore there are approximately 36,651,460 (36.6 million adult drivers in the United Kingdom).

^[2] Examples of insurance premium changes for speeding

30 year old male teacher in Manchester driving a 2006 Ford Focus, 10,000 miles a year with 5 years NCD. Parked on driveway.

                                Licence with a
                       Clean         SP30
    Provider          Licence     conviction
    AXA              GBP611.32    GBP737.44
    Swiftcover       GBP623.92    GBP623.92
    Privilege        GBP698.54    GBP986.86
    esure            GBP743.83    GBP830.12
    LV=              GBP781.37    GBP873.84
    Sheilas' Wheels  GBP828.84    GBP914.42
    insure           GBP828.94  GBP1,023.79
    Average          GBP730.97    GBP855.77

Sourced by http://www.moneysupermarket.com 25.08.2011

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SOURCE moneysupermarket.com