Has any L-plater had a ticket recently for exceeding 70km/h?

[Dare]

now we're going to bin a law that will see them splattered all over the place at high speed when they lose control from inexperience.

I wouldnt know, high speed riding was less stressful for me than riding in central auckland, once your above 60-70, the only worry when i first tried was the traffic around me and the snow/rain that day. Countersteering is more or less intuitive (but i would recommend learning about it first anyway) and the only way you will really lose control on a 250 or less is mis applying the brakes or taking a corner too fast. If taupo-auckland is possible on the third day of riding then short hops should not be a problem, highway riding is not brain surgery

Also my 2c, going faster than the surrounding traffic is in general safer than going slower BECAUSE overtaking puts you in control of where the other cars are whereas being overtaken puts the other guy in control, and when cars overtake they usually cut in (at least in auckland) before they have fully overtaken you (and any number of other semi-lethal driving habits).

[Jerry74]

When I was on learners never did 70 kms....

Too many cars up ya jacksie scary stuff..

True that if you ride at 100 no cops tend to take a second glance at you.

Dont do what I did ride a 450 cc bike at 180 and then get pulled over, lucky i talked my way through it.

Ah the good old days of the MOT and no speed cameras

[rastuscat]

The GDLS (graduated drivers licence system) has made big inroads into reducing the road toll. That's an overall improvement in the licencing system. We can all point to abberrations (and frequently do), but the overall improvement is head and shoulders better than what I learned with. I had a car licence for 2 weeks, answered my 5 oral questions and instantly had a full bike licence. Random.

The problem is that SOME (not all) of it's minor conditions are just silly. The 250cc rule is just silly, and I hear it is changing. The L plate thing, what's that about? How does it actually make you safer? There are 2 L plates in siLLy.

The 70km/h thing is also fairly silly. But please let's not forget one thing. KBers tend to be motorcycle enthusiasts, and tend to be better riders because they have a personal commitment to bikes. The laws are designed for the whole population, including those people who use bikes only as transport, who have bugger all previous experience, who might even never have driven a car or ridden a bicycle. The law is designed for the lowest possible denominator.

The big issue arises with inconsistency. Motorcycles make up a very small percentage of the motoring population. We expect the police to know everything about everything, when that just isn't possible. Boy racers know more abouit boy racers cars, truck drivers know more about trucks, bikers know more about their bikes, because they have a commitment to them that the cops don't.

Because the cops don't have a huge commitment to each individual class of vehicle, the enforcement can be inconsistent. Some cops write the L plate ticket for bikers, most don't. Some enforce the 70 km thing for learners, some don't. It's the inconsistency that creates the controversy.

2 issues then, the rule itself, and the inconsistency of enforcement. No wonder we whinge so much.

[awayatc]

The laws are designed for the whole population, including those people who use bikes only as transport, who have bugger all previous experience, who might even never have driven a car or ridden a bicycle. The law is designed for the lowest possible denominator.

Agree with whole post wholeheartedly, but the above quoted bits especialy

My son for example got his first little bike at 8 and has had bikes ever since...

His mate however only did his Theory and bought a very fast Kawasaki 250 something rather.....
Never been on a bike before!!!!
Off course he crashed a few times, bloody miracle he survived....

[Soljer99]

Hi there, please correct me if I am wrong, but is it true that learner motorbike riders are prohibited from using the motorways, particularly the Auckland ones?

I have read the motorcycle Road Code and (so far) haven't seen any rule explicitly saying so.

Safety issues aside (just talking about the "legality" of it), has a learner ever been pinged for doing 70kph only at the motorway (whose speed limit is say 80kph to 100kph?). Cheers.

[McDuck]

Hi there, please correct me if I am wrong, but is it true that learner motorbike riders are prohibited from using the motorways, particularly the Auckland ones?

I have read the motorcycle Road Code and (so far) haven't seen any rule explicitly saying so.

Safety issues aside (just talking about the "legality" of it), has a learner ever been pinged for doing 70kph only at the motorway (whose speed limit is say 80kph to 100kph?). Cheers.

You are indeed incorrect. You are alowed on the motorway. If you are confedent to. If you are not confedent then while you are alowed i wouldnt recomend it.