Most police forces allow speeding drivers to take the course if they were caught travelling less than five per cent over the speed limit, plus an additional 9mph.
In a 50mph speed limit zone, such as the ones Clarkson had been driving in, motorists can be caught driving at speeds of up to 64mph and be offered the course instead of taking points.
Writing in his column for The Sun last month, Clarkson moaned about the number of speed cameras he passed while on the long drive to London in a BMW M3.
Firstly, the Top Gear host passed a speed camera van on what he described as a "magnificent road" over Fylingdales Moor.
He said he was still 'lightly fuming' when he was then restricted to a 50mph speed limit for a long stretch of the M1 between Sheffield and the turn-off for Derby.
The furious BBC presenter wrote in his column in September that he would like to 'stick some cocktail sticks into [the] eyes' of the person who came up with the speed restriction.
He added: "And it gets worse because when the roadworks finally ended, I found myself on a stretch where there are speed-camera gantries every few hundred yards, to catch those who are desperate to make up for lost time."
It seems that despite taking note of the cameras, Clarkson did not slow down enough.
Today he complained that the cameras had caught him, handing him his first points since the 1980s.
He wrote: "Last month, I wrote in a blind fury about how many speed cameras I'd encountered on a drive from Whitby to London.
"Well, it seems one of them got me. Sadly, I was going too quickly for the speed awareness course to be an option. Which means I'm getting some points on my licence. My first in 30 years. Grrrrr."
- The Daily Mail
