Stung $400

[Roj]

- To get them to back off a bit, this really works. Adjust your position on the road to be directly in front of their eyes. They were looking past you as if you weren't there, now they can't see. They will shift left/right so they can see - get in their line of sight again. I have ever only had to adjust my position in front of them a max of 4 times before seeing them drop back because they're running blind

A good idea, I always try to occupy the same space as a car when in traffic, ussually approximately in the drivers side tire tracks rather than keeping "as far left as practicable" cause this means on a bike your are invisible to anyone behind the vehicle following you, though of course car drivers are blind anyway

[surfchick]

bugger about the four-hundy
FYI i was so broke when i was on my L that I did the maths and figured it was a lower fine for going 100kph with the L displayed than getting done for not displaying it. I had the L-plate on for the entire duration of the my L (which was nearly 2 years as I was lazy about getting the next license...) I drove at 100 and I drove after 10.00 etc beause I was older then 25 & felt a bit patronised by those rules... the ONLY harrassment I had was from boyracers and was on my first solo ride when I could hardly ride. when I got better I had absolutely no tailgaiting or anything else from the L as I think the drivers can see you can ride. definitely take the advice to ride the right tire track directly behind the driver in town & claim your space on the road. don't hover left and get traffic trying to squeeze past...

[2wheeljunkie]

i was kinda lucky too as for the 11 months i rode on my learners i din get a ticket for not using my L plates..and i know what u mean when u say ppl ride up yer arse if u hav em on..on a ride up waipu, one of ours had an L plate on and some bastard tailgated her for ages until two of our more experience riders realised and closed in on him..scared the driver..leave the L platers alone u darn cagers..

[davereid]

Put your L plate on the left hand side of your bike at the very rear - attach it to the swing arm, the inside of the number plate, somewhere like that.

From the LTSA website :
'L' (learner) plates
All riders on a motorcycle learner licence must have an 'L' plate attached to the rear of their motorcycle.
You can get an 'L' plate from a driver licensing agent. It's also acceptable to make one yourself, to the dimensions shown.
The 'L' plate must be clearly visible to all other road users. It must not restrict your front or rear vision.


So it must be clearly visable, and at the rear - but it doesnt say it has to be visable from any particular angle.

That way other road users cannot identify you as a learner from behind, so you will not be deliberatly tailgated or what ever, but you are still within the law.

[scumdog]

That way other road users cannot identify you as a learner from behind, so you will not be deliberatly tailgated or what ever, but you are still within the law.

Hmm, has ANYBODY got REAL proof a Learner was targetted or tail-gated just because the were displaying an 'L' plate?????

[The Lone Rider]

Me and mate both got stung $400 for no L-plates yesterday We werent doing over 70kph or nething. Still not gona use ma L-plate because drivers sit up ur ass!!!! Other learners beware of the quoter filling 50

WHAT THE FUCK!!? $400!?

I've only had that kind of fine when I was doing 86 in a 60 zone at 2am in the morning with aftermarket drag pipes that were putting out over 100 dbSPL.

[Rosie]

Hmm, has ANYBODY got REAL proof a Learner was targetted or tail-gated just because the were displaying an 'L' plate?????

Sometimes I had a suspicion that cars were doing random things around me when I had my L plate on, but that's hardly real proof.
To settle the matter, we really need a scientific study. Do you think the government would fund a PhD student for us? They seem to fund all manner of other strange "research" topics.

[Swoop]

And if he was NOT in uniform the difference it would make would be????

A lot less ironing for the !

[klingon]

Hmm, has ANYBODY got REAL proof a Learner was targetted or tail-gated just because the were displaying an 'L' plate?????

I don't know how you would go about getting real proof...

I do know that the times when my partner (a very experienced rider) borrowed my Volty equipped with L plate, he found people tailgated him, overtook him dangerously and did all kinds of other things that they never do to him when he's riding his own bike. He definitely got the impression that they were picking on him because of the L plate. No proof though. They might have just been picking on him because he was riding a Volty.

[BigRed2007]

Bad luck mate

[Sniper]

I still feel very little compassion for whiney people who broke the law.

Your fault, grow up, accept responsibility (Its in the road code) or are you practising to go into the labour govt?

[Deviant]

I see it from your point Sniper, but also I see it from the point of the guy who posted this thread.

Half the members here suggest risking the fine, as a safety precaution to avoid the idiots who target L platers, and nobody speaks against them when they say it.

Now somebody points out the penalty (I thought it was only $80 for some reason!) and everyone gets on his case.

Personally, as soon as I pick up my plates tonight, I'll be using them, but there's a good chance it may be too late as the cop who helped me out this morning may run a check on my reg and see I should have had them on already.. Murphy's Law eh?

Personally, I say use the plates and save some dough. If some idiot hits/hurts you and gets caught, he'll regret it for the rest of his life and the court will have no sympathy.

Whether you're wearing a plate or not, there will always be idiots allowed to drive. My flatmate says his colleague puposefully hit a bike that overtook him just this past week.
I wouldn't take this as pure truth, but if it did happen I hope the prick gets done for it.

If anyone knows of this happening and wants info, let me know. I'd like to see that bastard off the road for all our sakes, whether it's true or just a joke/exagerration.

[davereid]

Do "L" plates cause a different reaction from drivers ? I can't say for sure, as I have never needed them.

But I know that I got treated completely differently on my Harley or Kawasaki to my scooter. In 50km/hr zones, where the scooter is holding no-one up I routinely get tail-gated and passed without being given any clearance.

It happens way less when I am on my "full size" bike.

I think car drivers just assume that a scooter needs less road - and maybe L platers too ?

[Deviant]

I've seen car drivers spot an L plater, and say "Fucking learners!" then speed up as though they would have been going faster if the learner wasn't there, when it's obvious their reaction was purely due to spotting someone in training.

eg: they are travelling 60kph, learner is travelling 65kph, so they have to go up to 80kph because somehow the learner was (in their imagination) holding them up.

[sugilite:Me]

If I have a tailgaiter then I make sure there is even more room between me and the car in front of me, or I pull over and let the idiot past (or swerve about a bit till they think I am nuts and put some space in between)

My Dad taught me a trick for tailgater's, just drag your rear brake enough to actuate the brake light, and at the same time give the bike a little gas. The tailgater freaks at the brake light coming on and their deceleration combined with your acceleration produces an instant gap. Plenty of tailgater's simply don't realize they are doing it, and will back off and will stay that way afterwards.