L plate hazard

[Vapor]

heh, Pulled over 2 weeks ago

Cop "Wheres your L-Plate?"
Me "I don't have one"
Cop "Oh mate....."
Cop "Lecture on safty issues, insurance and everything else"
Me "Sorry, I will get one put on"

One week later...
Me - Riding down the motorway and notice a police car closing up behind..

Lights start flashing.... I pull over, look at the cop getting out of the car and as I see his face..... DREAD - Its the same one from a week ago.

Cop "Can I see your license please"
Me "Sure, here ya go"
Cop "hmmm, you are on a learner license but where is your L-Plate"
Me "I dont have one yet, was just going to get it"
Cop "hmmm, your the guy I saw a week ago....."
Me "Ummm , yeah... bugger eh.."
Cop "That will be a $400 fine"
Me "Cheers mate"


So yeah, I now have an L-plate on my bike... I cant stand it, but I seem to see this same cop everywhere..... Got no choice, unless I want another fine Fair enough... he gave me a warning.. He was actually ok about it.

[Grub]

Nasty and I (in the car) saw an L-Plate hazard tonight on the Welly motorway between Aotea onramp and Ngauranga Gorge at about 5.15pm.

He was riding a 4-stroke trail bike at around 80-90kmh and weaving between three lanes of traffic that was doing about 30kmh!!!!

We don't think he had proper gear on, I think it was a black/grey Roost jacket and f-all else. We seriously didn't think he'd make it as far as the gorge. Neither of us have seen anything like it ... ever.

If you know this young man, shame him, kick him and then take him to A&E at midnight to observe what happens to brain-deads like him

[ZeroIndex]

Nasty and I (in the car) saw an L-Plate hazard tonight on the Welly motorway between Aotea onramp and Ngauranga Gorge at about 5.15pm.

He was riding a 4-stroke trail bike at around 80-90kmh and weaving between three lanes of traffic that was doing about 30kmh!!!!

We don't think he had proper gear on, I think it was a black/grey Roost jacket and f-all else. We seriously didn't think he'd make it as far as the gorge. Neither of us have seen anything like it ... ever.

If you know this young man, shame him, kick him and then take him to A&E at midnight to observe what happens to brain-deads like him

Some people are just skilled...

[Big Dog]

I hate F#$^ing L plates.
At present i often have to ride back marker for the no longer a pillion as she gets tailgated everywhere with it.

I took it off when I rode it and no one tailgated me.

Mind you the 70kmph speed limit probably has more to do with this than the actual plate outside of town.

But even in 50's that little yellow horror is a red rag to a bull, especieally to boy racers (who are probably on L's themselves).
When ever I am out with her I am often having to drop back from the lead to force them to back off, or if following from a few cars back split up the middle to back them off.

I gaurantee you I would not have to put myself at risk like that if she did not have one on. (this was not an issue on a couple of occasions that this bike was ridden without an L, test ride, taking it home etc)

[vamr]

I'm waiting till I get a larger displacement bike to finally use an L plate.

[Puddlejumper]

Yep, gotta agree with those who hate the 70k thing. This has to be one of the stupidest rules ever. You can see how it got brought in....Lets keep those inexperienced new bikers at a safe speed. But obviously made by non bikers who never thought that a small bike at less than the prevalent road speed was nothing but a hazard to the rider. A rider lacking in confidence and experience at that.
Still, lots of ppl have to put up with it. Where do you guys think the best position on the road is for those at 70k on learners? At the side they will be swept past by everything, often very close. I've seen a bike go off the road when a truck did just that. In the right hand wheel track they will be likely collected from behind.
Glad I don't have to worry about that.

[Rosie]

I used my L plate the whole time I had my learners. I did get tailgated by a few cars, and I did have some people overtake me in a dubious manner, but I'm not sure whether that was because of the L plate itself, or because I was going a little slower than the surrounding traffic, or because some people just like driving like that.

One thing I never took any notice of was the 70km/h rule. At first I wasn't confident doing much more than 70, so I would stay towards the left hand side of the road, and would pull over whenever someone faster came up behind me (obviously I avoided busy roads during this time). Over time my riding improved, and I could keep up with the general flow of traffic.

From what I have heard on KB, if you are travelling at the speed limit with an L plate, not drawing attention to yourself and are following all the other licence conditions, you should be ok. I saw quite a few patrol cars around when doing 100 with the big yellow L and have never been pulled over.

[deanohit]

never been pulled over either,probly to do with the fact i'v never botherd with the yellow target.most guys i know have never came off at 90-100, but they've all had an off at 10-20(myself included).the thing is if you have even a little common sense to ride to the conditions,it's not hard to ride safely.

[Big Dog]

Where do you guys think the best position on the road is for those at 70k on learners? .

In the usual place a rider should be.

The right wheel track unless conditions dictate otherwise.
Then move to the left wheel track when you are ready to be passed.

If you don't own the lane others will try to share the lane and they may not have a clue about bikes and cause you grief as a result.

I do believe I would get tailgated less than my partner even with an L on but that would still be more than me without an L.

[Hanne]

I used my L plate the whole time I had my learners. I did get tailgated by a few cars, and I did have some people overtake me in a dubious manner, but I'm not sure whether that was because of the L plate itself, or because I was going a little slower than the surrounding traffic, or because some people just like driving like that.

One thing I never took any notice of was the 70km/h rule. At first I wasn't confident doing much more than 70, so I would stay towards the left hand side of the road, and would pull over whenever someone faster came up behind me (obviously I avoided busy roads during this time). Over time my riding improved, and I could keep up with the general flow of traffic.

From what I have heard on KB, if you are travelling at the speed limit with an L plate, not drawing attention to yourself and are following all the other licence conditions, you should be ok. I saw quite a few patrol cars around when doing 100 with the big yellow L and have never been pulled over.

I also wore my L plate and I don't think cars gave me any more grief than they do now. The only time I had a problem was on a group ride to Kaiaua when another biker was pressuring me to remove it because he chose not to wear one and didn't want attention drawn to us. I told him I had never had any problems before and left it on, because as Rosie said, as long as you follow all other conditions there is usually no issue. I guess it is up to the individual rider, but in my experience things were fine with one on. Plus it is only for a couple of months, and I didn't fancy risking the fine for not having one.