AN exam question asked: If Mr X is driving at 40ft per second on a road with a 30mph limit, would he be speeding?

And one pupil responded by writing: “He could find out by checking his speedometer.”

People have quoted that answer as if to say that if the student were any more stupid he’d need daily watering. To me, it deserved a decent mark for rational thinking.

Which is what seems to be lacking in the case of another Mark concerned with a speeding problem. Mark Wilson thought he was doing 36mph in a 40mph limit when the limit was in fact 30. He was snapped by a camera and opted to attend a driver awareness course rather than have points on his licence.

Fair enough. But what he finds absurd is that he’s been told to attend the course, not in Cheshire where he lives, but here in Dorset. A 500-mile round trip. Does that make sense? You could say the cost and inconvenience is just hard cheese. But what is the point of it? I’m no defender of exceeding speed limits but what’s to be gained by making him come here when he could do a course nearer his home?

Mr Wilson’s driving, the conviction suggests, might benefit by attending a course. So why make him drive 250 miles before he attends a course to improve his driving awareness? It seems not only harsh but self-defeating.

Whoever judged that to be a sensible decision should be asked to attend a course themselves. On common sense awareness.

The penalty’s enough without giving Mr Wilson the added physical punishment resulting from sitting down on such a long drive. (Hot cross buns.)