A course for Kirklees motorists involved in minor road accidents is so popular that it is being offered to all drivers.

The National Driver Improvement Scheme is designed to help them correct driving faults and avoid further crashes in future.

Now Kirklees Council is to run a similar course for the general public to help them avoid ending up in court or being faced with a hefty rise in their car insurance premiums as a result of careless driving.

The Driver Improvement Scheme was started in January as a one-year pilot by the Council on behalf of all the local authorities in West Yorkshire. It is a joint venture with West Yorkshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Calderdale and Wakefield councils are the latest to join, while Bradford and Leeds come on stream later this year.

Under the initiative, drivers have the option of paying £100 to go on the day-and-a-half-long course or go to court and risk facing a stiff fine and three penalty points on their licence.

A four-hour classroom session on topics such as the Highway Code and hazard awareness is followed by seven hours on the road in a car with an approved driving instructor.

Driving instructor Karl Satloka, of Fusden Lane, Gomersal, who is one of the tutors, said the course is excellent.

He said: "Many drivers have told me they think it is the best £100 they have ever spent and think all drivers should be made to go on the course.

"They say it makes them think more about their driving. I get a real buzz from being involved with the course because I see the difference in drivers' attitudes after just a few hours and the emphasis is on helping them rather than punishment.''

Richard Houghton, chief road safety officer at Kirklees Council, said: ""More than 200 drivers from all over Kirklees have taken part so far and 80 per cent of those referred to us agreed to go on it.

"The course is proving to be a huge success. Drivers have told us how beneficial it is, that they want to go on to do advance driving courses and have made new friends.

"Some drivers have been talking to friends and relatives about the course and asked if we could have something similar for them, so we are going to run courses for any drivers along the same lines.

"A driver who comes on the course is only asked his/her Christian name and does not have to give the reason why they are there."

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