L plate suggestion

[davebullet]

I see what DB said about tailgating, but we also acknowledge it eliminates any safety buffer should something happen. The best advice I could give a leaner is to scan your mirrors regularly and take action as soon as you detect tailgating (not waiting until it could be too late)..

I like the idea of the law giving more weight to L-plate rider complaints.

In my experience (when I was an experienced cager, before getting into biking), I used to see an L-plate (car usually) and say - oh god, how can I get around this person so as not to hold me up.

I think abolishing the need to display an L-plate (make it optional) would be the first step.

As a motorist - I need to allow for all skills of riders. There could be the bloke who's just picked up his Goldwing from the dealer and is a bit wobbly getting it home. Sure - he is a fully licensed rider, but I need to observe and allow for others skill levels.

There are times when I am tired and will not split traffic. I know my reactions aren't good enough. I won't ride my bike when I feel angry either (as I will take stupid risks).

I think the best advice I could give a learner is to start traveling at off-peak times and roads.... slowly increasing the "busyness" as their confidence grows and their automation of the controls sets in.

Lots of simulated practice is probably good
1. How to emergency stop
2. What to do when you get a tailgater
3. What to do when you get abused like that lady you mentioned
4. What to do when you think "oh shit through a corner I'm going too quick"
etc...

[davebullet]

Yep, often if I have to stop quickly, for example if the car in front brakes heavily for an orange light, I will pull up NEXT to the fast stopping vehicle. That way, I have already started the lane split I was most likely going to do anyway, but if the car behond me fails to stop, it won't matter.

I did this when in a mini once and the brakes failed... luckily I was driving a mini and it squeezed in the gap between parked cars and the vehicle in front of me.

[CookMySock]

So you advice is now for me not to stop at the Stop sign and to just filter through the traffic to loose the tailgater... in which I probably would have hit the kenworth

No. It was not my advice.

I suggested parking to one side, so that traffic had some opportunity to get by you in case they were unable to stop. I also referred specifically to your right to be there, but also suggested that it was not prudent (as you subsequently and horrifically discovered) - but still you are right and they are wrong.

Your advice is bogus. Your actions that ACTUALLY put your own life at risk are bogus also. Your attempts at logic to defend them have amounted to nothing. Your suggestion that I didn't get it are actually incorrect - it is you who didn't read correctly. I can defeat your faulty logic with a flick of my little finger. Sorry.

Steve

[Leyton]

... I reckon one should just ride on the footpath and avoid intersections all together.. drop it into the bend.. lay some rubber down.. and merge back with the traffic over the curb..

[duckonin]

L..pates..people were more tolerant about them 35 odd years back,I really do wonder why with so much aggression (road rage) these days that the system thinks they make a difference ?

[st00ji]

i guess the system is just 35 years behind the real world

personally i ditched my L plate after a couple of days, got the living crap scared out of me a couple of times on the mway attempting to somewhat do the speed im supposed to... even at 80k cars were doing all kinds of scary stuff round me. riding with traffic has proven much more peaceful. the only trick is holding my patience enough to not get pulled over for other silliness

plus splitting with a L plate on is liable to raise some eyebrows :P

then again i've been driving cars for many years, so i dont feel like im lacking in terms of understanding and anticipating traffic, which someone who is new to both bikes AND the road might do. that and im old enough to have some grasp of my own limitations (much shorter than the bikes, hah)

[PrincessBandit]

L..pates..people were more tolerant about them 35 odd years back,I really do wonder why with so much aggression (road rage) these days that the system thinks they make a difference ?

A valid point. I just think people are getting progressively more aggressive on the road and less tolerant. Or people's attitudes are the same they've always been but with the huge increase of traffic on our roads today there isn't the same leeway to use margins of error.

I always kept my L plate on and had both good and bad experiences from it. While this is in no way any consolation for a newb who is on their L, I agree that penalties for any vehicle/person hitting or injuring an L plater should be drastically increased. Of course there will always be "her word against his word" in the event of no independant witnesses, but I think there is merit in drivers being made/"encouraged" to be more cautious around L's - bike and car!

[peasea]

ORRRRR!

What you could do is; provide a full-on training course (paid by whoever wants one) and when you've passed all the requirements you could then hit the road with confidence and in greater safety without a freakin' L-plate.

Oops, sorry, too sensible.

[CookMySock]

ORRRRR!

What you could do is; provide a full-on training course (paid by whoever wants one) and when you've passed all the requirements you could then hit the road with confidence and in greater safety without a freakin' L-plate.

Oops, sorry, too sensible.

Not too sensible at all, but the reality is no one wants to pay for training coz they don't need it. Yeah yeah I know they do, but they don't. Even the mentors on this forum are far underutilised.

All training is undesired. Consider school, basic handling skills test, defensive driving courses, university.. who would do these things if they didn't have to?

My kids submit to my methodology because they have to, and because I influenced the paradigm-shift, that they would be light years ahead inside a very short time, should they do it my way - ie, become a sport bike rider, not just a motor-cycle license holder.

This thread introduced the idea of changing, or adding legislation, specifically to address issues actually faced by L-Platers, specifically for the purpose of have said L-Plate do what it was originally intended, and that is make the learner process safer, not the opposite which is actually happening on a regular basis. It is nothing to do with placating the strong feelings of those who imagine themselves to be unsafe because of their own faulty thinking - that is their own responsibility.

Steve

[vifferman]

Y I bet there are many more stories such as this.

I don't have any bike ones, since when I was a looner there wasn't such a thing as an L-plate, just a different rego sticker you were supposed to have (if you obeyed the rule, or the one about bike size )
However (but!) I've had some nasty experiences teaching my sons to drive. Some people get very unpleasant and impatient when they see an L plate. It had nothing to do with the driving - I once left the plates on (illegal, BTW) because we had a coupe, and it was hard to reach the plate on the back windscreen, and I was in a hurry. I drove a few km to the mall and back, and couldn't believe how desperate some drivers were to get past me, even when I was driving at nearly 15km/h over the limit.

I don't get it; do these morons think your vehicle's gonna explode or somehow otherwise endanger their life or impinge on their driving?

I think your idea has some merit, Steve, but I can't see the trafficocrats going for it, even if it does give them a handy excuse for yet another new rule'n'regulation to impose on us.

[CookMySock]

Well I wouldn't mind if they imposed such a rule on me. It keeps my kids safe, and one day, my grandkids (not too soon with any luck!)

And hey why can't people just fucking behave anyway.. sheesh.

Steve

[MsKABC]

I find it kind of ironic, DB, that in many circumstances you advocate flouting the law, and yet at times like these, you are crying about having to display an L-plate and demanding extra laws to protect L-plate riders. The solution to your problem is simple: continue flouting the law by not displaying the L-plate and thereby not attract the attention of the people you describe.

FWIW, I have seen all manner of despicable behaviour on the roads directed at cagers, bikers (L-plates or not), truckies, pedestrians, cyclists.... The problem is not restricted to L-platers. A better solution would be to improve the attitudes of road users in general.

We can all contribute to this by setting a good example.....lead on, DB!

[CookMySock]

I find it kind of ironic, DB, that in many circumstances you advocate flouting the law, and yet at times like these, you are crying about having to display an L-plate and demanding extra laws to protect L-plate riders. The solution to your problem is simple: continue flouting the law by not displaying the L-plate and thereby not attract the attention of the people you describe.

I flout the law when there there is nothing it will gain me, and when it won't threaten your rights. I'll travel at 120k when I choose to, pass where it is dissapproved of, and weasel out of things as much as I like. Just like the next person does.

What I hoped to address is how newbies feel. Think back to when you were a newbie biker and how you felt.

Steve

[MsKABC]

I flout the law when there there is nothing it will gain me, and when it won't threaten your rights.

Really?

So if someone crashes into your bike (their fault) you would expect them to pay for your damage.

But if you crash into somebody else's vehicle (your fault) you would tell them to fuck off and not pay to fix their vehicle?

YES, and YES! LOL! Slowly, slowly you start to understand. Not what your mother told you to do is it.

Tell me, how is crashing into someone and not reimbursing them respecting their rights?

And then there are your posts about HID bulbs (because blinding other road users is totally respectful), but we won't even go there...

We could go on and on.

Think back to when you were a newbie biker and how you felt.

I felt absolutely fine, never had any problems. Thanks for asking