A SCHEME which will make careless drivers take lessons instead of getting penalty points on their licence has been given the go-ahead by councillors.

At a meeting of Bolton Council's Highways sub-committee, members overwhelmingly endorsed the Greater Manchester scheme, which offers an alternative to penalties and fines.

The idea involves sending the offending driver "back to school" for lessons, as an alternative to prosecution, if they have been charged with less serious offences.

Offences classed as less serious include careless driving or driving without reasonable consideration for other road users.

And drivers would have to pay between £90 and £125 for the courses.

All that each authority in Greater Manchester is required to commit to the scheme is an initial payment of £2,000 which, it is believed, would be recovered over the following 12 to 18 months.

Heavy price

After that the scheme would be financially self sufficient.

Trevor Higson, senior road safety officer, said: "Instead of punishment through the courts the offenders' driving is corrected.

"But it's not a soft option. There is a heavy price to pay to attend the course and failure to attend the course would result in court action.

"It's in the public's interest to rectify a fault in someone's driving."

The scheme has already been up and running in more than 20 other authorities, including Lancashire.

It was piloted back in 1991 in Devon and since then it has been hailed a success.

Mr Higson went on: "There's a national association which has been set up to maintain these schemes so that they all follow a code of practice.

"It's a scheme that needs to be done in the same way in all authorities."

The driving courses will be taken by driving instructors of the "highest grade".

Mr Higson said that there would be a limit to the number of courses an offender could opt to take. After that they would be left to the courts for punishment.

And if an instructor deemed a driver to be incompetent, the DVLA could be contacted to revoke the person's driving licence.

The scheme is expected to be up and running across Greater Manchester later this year.

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