COMPANY car drivers caught speeding could be sent back to the classroom following a successful pilot programme in Lancashire aimed at slowing motorists down.

It is expected local authorities throughout the UK could adopt the 'speed awareness course' – a £90 alternative to a fine and three licence penalty points – which is being run by Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety.

The organisation includes partners such as Lancashire Constabulary and Lancashire County Council and was created to meet the Government's 2010 road casualty reduction targets.

As part of the initiative, speeding drivers referred by Lancashire Constabulary are offered the course as an alternative at a cost of £90 but if it is not completed, prosecution is likely to follow. A spokesman for the partnership said: 'A fine and the possibility of prosecution should provide the necessary incentive for the driver to make a success of the re-training.

'Completion of the course is a direct alternative to prosecution resulting from excess speed arising from errors of judgement. Offences arising from deliberate or reckless actions should result in prosecution.'

Each course lasts for up to seven hours and involves classroom and in-car training. By the end of the course, the spokesman added, drivers should be able to identify what causes drivers to speed, the disadvantages of speeding, the consequences of misusing speed, different speed limit areas and demonstrate the correct use of speed for a variety of hazards.