What happens during a pre-court advanced driving course?

No one wants to appear in court for a driving offence, but if you are unfortunate enough to have one coming up, then it is vital to give yourself the best outcome possible. Your court case has been brought about to address your mistakes, and there will be consequences if found guilty.  You can do a few things before you get to court to help yourself, and a driving course can help.

A Pre-Court driving course will help identify the cause of the issues that brought you to court in the first place and give you a toolbox of techniques to stop them from occurring in the future.  When you are in front of the Magistrates on the day, they will want to know why you decided to break the motoring laws you did, what your frame of mind was, and how you missed any signs stating speed or otherwise.

It is wise to understand your mistakes, how they happened, and what precautions you have taken to ensure they will not happen again. The more information you can give about the offence, the better outcome you will have. For example, it is no good to blame the weather or the traffic as you should be fully prepared for issues such as these. On the other hand, should the weather cause a flood that you need to drive around, which causes an issue of some form, that could be a mitigating factor which could be used in your defence.

Booking a course

During a Pre-Court on-road driving course, we are looking to reduce the punishments that the court may issue. More importantly, we are hoping to instil exemplary driving practices that will last for life, not just impress the Magistrates on the day.

Once your course is booked, your tutor will have an honest and frank discussion with you about the offence and how and where it occurred so that when they meet with you on the day, they will already have a plan and a possible route to make the most of the duration they have with you. Where possible, they will try to take in the area where the issue leading to the court appearance occurred so they can see what you may have missed on the day (such as a change in the speed limit) and will be able to coach you to understand how your actions led to the offence in the first place, and how to stop it from happening again in the future. Your tutor will ensure that you comply with speed regulations on all types of roads so that you will take many routes throughout the session. You may be driving in a few areas where a similar issue could occur, such as missing speed limit signs, so you and your tutor can see how your driving has improved with coaching.

Bespoke training 

Your course will be completely tailored to you and your offence, and your tutor will want to make sure that the changes you are taught are becoming habitual by the end of the session. A Pre-Court driving course does not guarantee anything – that is down to the Magistrates on the day, but it gives you the very best chance to show them that you are remorseful and have done your best to rectify your bad driving habits.

During a Pre-Court driving course, as well as focusing on the offence, you will also be given many advanced driving techniques to work on.  If you have never taken any further driving tuition since passing your driving test, you may find it quite an eye-opener! After taking advanced driver training, many drivers look to take an Advanced Motorist test, especially those who have accumulated penalty points, as that may help keep insurance premiums down.

After the training

Once you have completed your course, your tutor will upload your report, which will include a risk assessment, and this is what you will take to court with you and give to the magistrates directly or to your motoring offence solicitor.  If there is a chance that you could lose your licence and you need it for work or family purposes, as expensive as it can be, it would always be advisable to try to use a solicitor to put your case forward.  If not, there will be a duty solicitor in the court, but they are on a first-come, first-served basis, so it is advisable to be at the court as soon as they open and put your name on the list.

Your driving report is a valuable document with a unique verifiable number; it will show the tutor’s name, DVSA registration number, and your details.  Although it’s not a legal document, the report will show initial drive details and the recommendations to work on. The latter part of the report will show the routes, the techniques coached and the improvements with lots of tutor comments and advice.  If the risk assessment were high, we would recommend further training before taking it to court, but on the whole, these high-risk scores are very rare.

Losing your driving licence, or even just a few months’ suspension, can cost you the possibility of losing your job and impact future insurance, which can be immense. Keeping your licence will always be the cheaper option, and if that means purchasing a Pre-Court driving course and hiring a solicitor, it may be money well spent in the long run!

Contact us today about our UK-wide pre-court courses.