During the summer I had driven to Manchester to visit some dear friends for an annual fancy dress party. The theme was musicals, so I had decided to go as a pink lady.

It meant that my darling fiance had no choice but to don a leather T-Birds Jacket and dodgy black 50’s wig to complete my look. We had set off down the M74 towards Carlisle then onto the M6 and finally hit the M61 just before lunchtime. The traffic wasn't too bad which was just as well as that particular section of the motorway was covered in traffic cones due to the roadworks taking place.

I slowed down to 60mph which I thought was fine as we were still on a motorway but by the time I’d seen the average speed cameras overhead followed by a gigantic flashing 50 mph speed sign the damage had been done.

Of course the inevitable happened and a few weeks later I got the dreaded letter through the door telling me that I’d been travelling at 62 mph in a 50mph section of the motorway.

What could I do other than hold my hands up and accept full responsibility as I just hadn't been paying attention to the change in speed limit which is unforgivable. I was fully prepared for the fine and penalty points I’d receive on my licence as a result when I noticed an alternative option on the letter.

You see, Manchester police offer a Speed Awareness Course run by The Greater Manchester Casualty Reduction Partnership who include Greater Manchester’s ten local authorities, Greater Manchester Primary Care Trust, the Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majesty’s Courts Service and the Highways Agency.

This national Speed Awareness Course allows the police to give low-end speeding motorists the opportunity to attend a driver re-education course as an alternative to paying a fixed penalty and receiving penalty points on their driving licence.

I passed my driving test over ten years ago and I’d never even considered going back to refresh or re-educate myself when it came to the rules of the road which is so stupid now when I say it out loud.

So, I decided I would call up and enquire more about this alternative offer and to my dismay discovered that these courses only exist in England and Wales with no opportunity to attend anywhere in Scotland.

As it happened I was due to be back in Manchester the next month for work so I decided to go for it anyway and booked an afternoon course in Bury before setting off home for Scotland when I’d finished.

The day arrived and I was starting to feel a little nervous as I didn't really know what to expect. There were about 30 of us in the class and what struck me the most was the complete diversity of the group. I’d honestly expected to find the room full of young, first time drivers but I couldn't have been more wrong.

The age ranged from about 30 to 70 years old and I had a lawyer and a taxi driver sat next to me. The course instructors were exceptional putting everyone at ease and calming a few folk who thought it was an outrage they were even attending such a class considering they were only doing 40 in a 30 mph zone.

The class lasted four hours and we spoke about everything from speeding, understanding hazards on the road, mobile phones and consequences not only for you the driver but to others on the road that you're potential careless decisions could and would impact.

I have to tell you, without a word of exaggeration, it was honestly the most incredibly valuable, eye opening and thoroughly thought provoking four hours of my life.

I, along with every other person in the room that day, left feeling utterly shocked and stunned at how little attention I actually gave to the rules of the road every time I sat behind the wheel and I didn't even know it.

Again I was on this course because I was considered a “low end” speeding motorist and that's how it made me feel? Can you imagine then the benefits to those serial offenders on our roads?

I have no idea why these invaluable courses are not available in Scotland but can I urge and plead with the powers that be to rectify this immediately. In fact I would say there was a case for all road user in Scotland to attend this sort of course every few years in order to maintain their licence as I’m sure most of us would hold our hands up and admit that at times we’ve all been guilty of treating driving with an “ach it's just second nature to me now” attitude which is quite a terrifying thought really. So please Scotland, get on the Drivesafe course. For all of our sakes.