Learner/Restricted night riding ban

[kilgh]

Coming home from my shift tonight, I was thinking this would be a great time to practice on the bike. No traffic in sight, roads to myself in well-lit suburban areas...

Why is there a restriction during quiet traffic times and not rush hour where I would think learners would be more annoying/dangerous?

[Hopeful Bastard]

Coming home from my shift tonight, I was thinking this would be a great time to practice on the bike. No traffic in sight, roads to myself in well-lit suburban areas...

Why is there a restriction during quiet traffic times and not rush hour where I would think learners would be more annoying/dangerous?

Night time. Tiredness. Lack of attention on roads. Etc

Mind you, Should have a ban on Full licence holders driving on the road at night until they can prove that they can drive during dark!! Coming back home the other night from speedway.... 70km on open roads.. 40km around 70km corners.. braking on slight bends when they can be taken at twice the speed..

People arent used to driving at night. They like to see EVERYTHING alight, Not just what their headlights illuminate..

[awa355]

Coming home from my shift tonight, I was thinking this would be a great time to practice on the bike. No traffic in sight, roads to myself in well-lit suburban areas...

Why is there a restriction during quiet traffic times and not rush hour where I would think learners would be more annoying/dangerous?

I cant see any problem with learners riding at night. ( when the weather is fine)I did when new ( bloody long time ago ). Night is just another enviroment that usually comes along once every 24 hrs. Certainly makes you aware of your limited field of vision.

On country roads a new rider will soon learn why it's important to ride at a speed that lets him stop within the distance lit up by the bikes light, eg; fog, no white line on the left shoulder.

In urban areas probably not a good idea when raining unless necessary. Road markings can be very slippery and hard to see with street lighting reflecting off the wet surface. A wet visor wont help either. Nor gloves that are soaked through. Wet heavy gloves can slow down your hand reaction times more than you may realise. Rain at night tends to close down your field of vision to what's in front of you mainly because when you turn your head water seems to always find a way past your collar.

Licence restrictions cant' allow for different for wet/dry night conditions so I guess that's why they exist. Tho' in my mind a learner needs to learn to ride in all conditions.

[Laxi]

Tho' in my mind a learner needs to learn to ride in all conditions.

especially when during winter it is dark by 6pm anyway, riding in the dark is just a part of life

[Shadows]

I wouldn't like to be stuck doing 70k on the open road at night. Bad enough during the day without the added risk that blind Mavis didn't see your little red light on the back before she drove over the top of you.

[maggot]

A very good point.. Always thought that the restriction seems a real problem for people with awkward shift hours and such, late shifts and all that jazz.
Like somebody can ride to work for their late shift at 6pm but once it's over after 10pm, they can't ride home..
Or the people with the REAL late shifts. Just seems a pain in the ass if it's your only mode of transport.

Late night doesn't necessarily mean tiredness or lack of concentration if you've been sleeping the whole day in preparation for your night shift.

Personally, for me, I don't pay too much attention to the night restriction. If I've got a choice, I won't break the rules, but when necessity calls, it doesn't bother me.

[kilgh]

Good point about the open road issue Shadows.

Yes, Maggot, kinda my problem. I work nights or overnights, so I am most awake in the early hours of the morning and do a lot of my travelling at that time. So having that restriction is a bit strange for me.

Plus the crash stats say most bike accidents happen in high traffic hours...but that could just be a statistic caused by the restrictions themselves...

[st00ji]

you can apply for an exemption from your licence restrictions. in your case it would almost certainly be granted, particularly if the bike is your only mode of transport.

[kilgh]

Can you? Didn't realise that...might investigate...hmmm.

I do still have a car though so I'm not in desperate need.

Went to govt site and found this:

We will not grant an exemption

...if we consider it will increase the risk to road safety.
Also, we don't grant exemptions where you:

are claiming on grounds of inconvenience or financial hardship

So don't think it's likely.

[davebullet]

The whole thing is an arse.

I mean - if you are riding familiar roads - then WTF is the problem?

the only other consideration is people are more likely to drink at night - therefore as a learner, you are more likely to be irresponsible and go out riding after hitting the turps. If you are 40 like me - that ain't going to happen. don't confuse a 15 year old learner with a 40 year old learner. One has life skills and knows better.

The whole system is fucked in the head. Wish I could give you a sensible answer, but you can't with such an outdated system, possibly written by people using irrelevant and skewed statistics.

I'd bet if BRONZ were allowed to propose the law changes, we'd have happier road users and less deaths as a result. Rant off.

[awa355]

A few years ago I did a Petes Postie run in Tauranga. A reflecterised jacket was the safest aid we could wear. Certainly at night and during the day. Far more so than a pissy arsed red light or a dark coloured helmet.

At night I could see the moving reflecterised stripes of another postie two blocks away. Mind you, wearing one, made me more conscious of them and probably picked up the reflections quicker than some of the cage drivers.

On the minus side, so many people in different jobs wear the jackets that drivers become colourblind and dont see them anyway. A bit like red lights, stop signs, motorcyclists, school zones etc.

I just cant see any real reason for any licence holder to be restricted at night. Experience doesn't arrive until the hard yards have been done.

[Spearfish]

Get a moped, no restrictions on when to ride.

So you have to wonder how a small moped is safer than a full sized bike at night?
But in reality there is no difference.

Then with the 10pm limit you have to ask why wet roads in winter are safer in the dark than dry roads in summer in the light?

[kilgh]

Well, glad I'm not the only one who thinks things are a little illogical.

Yes, I'm not 15yrs old. I have been driving at night (primarily even) for 20 years. On the same roads. There's no taking this into account in the current system.

Would much rather learn on quiet roads while I'm at my most alert!

[Ratti]

I'd bet if BRONZ were allowed to propose the law changes, we'd have happier road users and less deaths as a result. Rant off.

BRONZ is aware that some laws are arses, but there are some riders who are too. Bit of a stretch to say changing the law will save lives. Before you jump up and get your gun, I agree there are laws that are inconsistant with peoples actual needs, and its time to revisit those. the after dark thing with no exemption would be a perfect candidate for review.

imho

[superman]

Tho' in my mind a learner needs to learn to ride in all conditions.

Exactly right. Since getting my learners I've gone through wet windy night riding and have learnt to study the met service reports much more regularly when planning for rides

It's just like the NZTA says "no going over 70km/h" on learners. But then you sit your restricted test at 100. If you really had followed that and never gone 100 you would absolutely shit yourself during the test and most probably fail.