Back to school for poor drivers

Offenders could escape jail under the scheme

Careless drivers in Scotland could go back to driving school instead of being prosecuted, under a new scheme.

However, they will have to pay the £129 cost of the course themselves and will still be prosecuted if they fail to attend.

The scheme is to operate Scotland-wide and will run for three years, Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson has announced.

Its launch follows a successful pilot of the Driver Improvement Scheme in West Lothian.

The initiative, which will start on Thursday, is intended to be self-financing and will be run by the RAC and BSM.

'Safer roads'

Lord Advocate Colin Boyd welcomed its introduction.

"Careless driving can cost lives and a fine does not make a careless driver any safer," he said.

Ms Jamieson said up to 3,000 Scots a year faced careless driving offences.

"Up until now, those motorists could face a fine of up to £500 or in some cases lose their licence," she said.

"That system didn't address drivers' bad habits and it didn't make our road safer places."

Serious injury

It will be for fiscals to decide whether offenders should be offered the course as an alternative to prosecution.

But it will not apply to offenders whose driving has resulted in a fatality or serious injury.

Scotland's police chiefs gave public backing to the plan.

Northern Constabulary Chief Constable Ian Latimer said: "Very often, drivers are charged with careless driving because their skills and abilities are not as good as they think they are."

He said the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland believed the scheme would help those drivers make "massive" improvements in their driving standards.