THOUSANDS of careless motorists are to be given the chance to change their bad habits at driving school instead of being fined or losing their licence.

Up to 3000 drivers a year who are charged with careless driving offences in Scotland will be given the chance to improve their behaviour behind the wheel.

However, drivers who fail to attend the course will face prosecution and a fine, penalty points, or losing their licence altogether.

Drivers will have to pay the (pounds) 129 bill for the courses under the self-financing scheme.

The driver schools will be introduced across Scotland from next April following a pilot project in West Lothian from 1998 to 2002.

A survey of 36 of the 101 people who took part in the scheme found their main reason for participation was to avoid court and penalty points. A report said the desire to avoid going to court was stronger than the positive motivation to improve driving skills.

The overwhelming view of respondents was that their driving did improve and they had positive views of the course.

However, none had undertaken any further driver training and most said that risky behaviour still constituted an element of their driving.

Each respondent was asked to say whether they were guilty of any one of a number of potential risky actions in the course of their driving.

They admitted using a mobile phone, driving without a seatbelt, exceeding the speed limit on a 60mph road by 20mph and overtaking another vehicle on the inside lane.

Of the 36 people surveyed, eight had passed their test in the past two years and six had been driving for more than 20 years.

The vast majority of respondents were very regular drivers who drove as commuters and for general social and domestic reasons.

The Scottish Executive announced its intention to set up driver schools last year following the West Lothian pilot project. Similar schemes have operated in England and Wales for the past decade.

Details of the new scheme were confirmed yesterday by Cathy Jamieson, justice minister, and Colin Boyd QC, the lord advocate.

They announced that BSM and RAC, the driving organisations, had won the tender to run the three-year scheme from April 1 next year.

Ms Jamieson said: ''Payment of a fine under the current system does nothing to ensure that drivers are any safer when they get back behind the wheel.

''Participation in the scheme offers a positive alternative to prosecution and sentence.''

Procurators-fiscal will decide whether to offer the course.