Petition for removal of L plate and 70km/hr limit????

**Lazy7** · 23rd February 2006, 15:36

you have to remember one thing.

if a learner on a bike gets silly and asses off, he is most likely only going to hurt himself.

if a learner in a car gets silly and 'asses off' there is a much higher chance he will hurt other people as well.

i'm into performance cars and i can tell you some of these young kids that given evo's by their parents for their 16th birthdays are a serious hazard on the road. even an experienced driver can get surprised by how quickly stuff happens in a car that will do 0-100 in 4.5 seconds from the factory.

i think the L plates put an unneccesary stress on the learner rider to perform on the roads. if they bugger it up, they are subject to ridacule and contempt and that level of embarresment makes you do stupid things... like forgetting to indicate, or not looking where you are going.

i think the 70km an hour thing on the open road is also stupid because aucklanders in general will be doing 40-50km's faster than you on the open road so will be approaching you a lot faster than they expect to and thats dangerous as well.

i definitely think there needs to be some safety regulations and i personally think the 250limit is a one is good one. i've never understood the time limits though... would have thought it would be more dangerous to ride at peak hour traffic at 9 in the morning!

a possible idea would be to have the tests for restricted and full licences a lot harder, and more expensive, but allow people to take them when ever they wanted... so you could do them all in a week if you'd like, but they were brutal to pass and twice the price so you knew you had to be on your game to get past them.

a mate of mine recently got his motorcycle licence in france and it was incredibly difficult. there was also a standdown period of 6 weeks for a resit if he failed. but there was only 1 test.

**froggyfrenchman** · 23rd February 2006, 15:57

Originally Posted by MSTRS

What Buggy said. In theory it's all good (the intent) but in practice, it's a dangerous crock. In saying that tho, I think the 'L' plate should stay. No pillion should stay. The cc thing is a hard one - easier to leave alone. Do away with the 70kph.
And what is with the 10pm thing? I never understood that one.

im with you, with the exception of the cc restriction. change that to a horsepower cap. Think about it... on a restricted licence, i can ride a cbr250rr or a rgv250, but im not allowed near my 1951 triumph with a top speed of bout 85km!

**Wolf** · 23rd February 2006, 16:06

Originally Posted by froggyfrenchman

im with you, with the exception of the cc restriction. change that to a horsepower cap. Think about it... on a restricted licence, i can ride a cbr250rr or a rgv250, but im not allowed near my 1951 triumph with a top speed of bout 85km!

We've argued this point until the cows come home. There are tons of bikes that are weaker than modern 250s and there are a few 250s that are just insanely fast or powerful. The list that the Aussies use actually looks sensible - it bans a few 250s and allows a fair few 650s but our moronic politicians think implementing such a thing here would be "too difficult to police" despite the Aussies managing to do so quite well.

**Streetwise** · 23rd February 2006, 16:18

Bikes may be more dangerous in the hands of some. But with experience and knowledge riders do adapt and realise that there own safety is in there hands. A wrong decision may hurt for a long long time. As for the basic handling Skills Assessment you do have a point, I know why they have the course but it does lack the realism of the road. A car park will never be the same as the Wellington motorway at 5pm or for that matter any road,

**Nicksta** · 23rd February 2006, 17:07

My $0.02....
Keep the 250cc restriction, ditch the 70km/hr rule, keep the plate, keep the 10pm rule for learners licence.... it is dangerous to go slower than the reccommended limit and the flow of traffic.... the 10pm rule is good as tiredness effects you when your a noobie... restricted should not have it though... L plate does inform people of your newness to riding... even though i think it makes cages drive stupid around you....
Ps. I do believe Cages should also have restrictions on engine horsepower: non turbo, 1.5L and less...

**Back Fire** · 23rd February 2006, 17:13

Originally Posted by Nicksta

My $0.02....
Keep the 250cc restriction, ditch the 70km/hr rule, keep the plate, keep the 10pm rule for learners licence.... it is dangerous to go slower than the reccommended limit and the flow of traffic.... the 10pm rule is good as tiredness effects you when your a noobie... restricted should not have it though... L plate does inform people of your newness to riding... even though i think it makes cages drive stupid around you....
Ps. I do believe Cages should also have restrictions on engine horsepower: non turbo, 1.5L and less...

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**muzz** · 23rd February 2006, 17:33

Get rid of the 70 kph rule, keep the L plate, restrict bikes to a horse power rating eg :40 hp not a cc rating. This allows bigger poeple to get a bike that they can be more comfortable on and stop newbies getting on high performance 250's. I believe Cages should also have restrictions on engine horsepower. Keep the riding courses i think that they do benefit all riders,yes even the more experienced ones who think they know it all. Compulsary track days would be good, must do one every two years min.

**ajturbo** · 23rd February 2006, 17:33

it is not the speed .. but the lack of experance.....:slap:

**ajturbo** · 23rd February 2006, 17:38

Originally Posted by muzz

Get rid of the 70 kph rule, keep the L plate, restrict bikes to a horse power rating eg :40 hp not a cc rating. This allows bigger poeple to get a bike that they can be more comfortable on and stop newbies getting on high performance 250's. I believe Cages should also have restrictions on engine horsepower. Keep the riding courses i think that they do benefit all riders,yes even the more experienced ones who think they know it all. Compulsary track days would be good, must do one every two years min.

now you are on the right track!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**pzkpfw** · 23rd February 2006, 19:47

How about an "E" plate for "Elderly drivers", so when we see them we can excuse them their mistakes, and cut them some slack (the way people should treat the "L" platers).

We'd tell them it was "E" for "Experienced".

Cheers,

**Hitcher** · 23rd February 2006, 21:07

And a W plate for Wankers:

For doing no more than 95kmh in the right-hand lanes of dual carriageways and motorways
For never using their indicators to inform other motorists of their intention to change lanes or turn
For texting whilst driving
For having "baby on board" danglers in their rear windows
For travelling at 90kmh on the open road, except for where there are passing lanes, when they accelerate to 120kmh
For fitting "performance exhausts" to automatic cars that then moo like a wildebeast on heat
For generally getting on my wick.

**Wolf** · 23rd February 2006, 23:08

Originally Posted by Hitcher

And a W plate for Wankers:

No need, they already have vehicles that come prelabelled in Spanish: "Pajero"

**ZeroIndex** · 23rd February 2006, 23:45

Originally Posted by Hitcher

And a W plate for Wankers:

For doing no more than 95kmh in the right-hand lanes of dual carriageways and motorways
For never using their indicators to inform other motorists of their intention to change lanes or turn
For texting whilst driving
For having "baby on board" danglers in their rear windows
For travelling at 90kmh on the open road, except for where there are passing lanes, when they accelerate to 120kmh
For fitting "performance exhausts" to automatic cars that then moo like a wildebeast on heat
For generally getting on my wick.

HAHAHAHA, that's good... they should consider that one...

**scumdog** · 24th February 2006, 00:17

Originally Posted by Rosie

I didn't get a blue licence when I got my class 2 learners last year. Which made me all the more surprised when I got my blue licence this time. I got a class 4 learners at the same time as my motorbike licence, so I'll be interested to see what colour subsequent licences are (4L blue + 6R yellow = green?)

The AA took my licence off me and cut it up when I did my learners test. Maybe they are aware of the multiple licence trick.

And as far as the illegality of the old licence, I imagine if you gave the cop your old licence, he figures out that it's not valid, and you say "ha, ha, nearly had you, here's the real one" they wouldn't shrug and say "oh well, it's not illegal" and leave you to go on your merry way.

http://www.legislation.govt.nz probably has something to say on the matter.

Or say "I'll keep your old one, see you later"

**scumdog** · 24th February 2006, 00:19

Originally Posted by muzz

Get rid of the 70 kph rule, keep the L plate, restrict bikes to a horse power rating eg :40 hp not a cc rating. This allows bigger poeple to get a bike that they can be more comfortable on and stop newbies getting on high performance 250's. I believe Cages should also have restrictions on engine horsepower. Keep the riding courses i think that they do benefit all riders,yes even the more experienced ones who think they know it all. Compulsary track days would be good, must do one every two years min.

And who, pray, is going to pay to have all this checked?? And how often??