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

**Blairos** · 7th March 2006, 11:10

I have mentioned this in other related threads...

The L-Plate is an "Idiot Magnet" and an experiment I conducted recently showed this...

With L-Plate on and at 70Km/h:
Got tailgated, tooted at, overtaken AND undertaken!

, cut off - all in one ride!

With L-plate on and up to 100Km/h:
Got tailgated (this is not pretty at 95k!), overtaken on corners and cut off straight after they did this

With no L-Plate:
Was pretty much left alone - didnt do anything stupid on my part, moved in traffic flow with more than usual following distances observed, several constabulary passed/followed - no action taken, at passing lanes got the "thankyou toot" from a couple of boy racers for me moving into the left-hand lane to allow anyone behind me past.

My view...
1. Scrap the L-Plate - it attracts too much unwanted attention from people who havent got anything better to do than bully some rider around. Either that, or make it smaller (and not so conspicuous as a result)
I have found they are one of the most difficult things to mount on the rear of a bike as well!

2. 70Km/h limit - I am of the opinion that part of your handling certificate should be some sort of "rating" based on ability - this would probably require a followup evaluation and extend this process a little, but IMHO, this would be worth it - 3 hours with an instructor cannot necessarily make a rider out someone, if this is the case, then a 70Km/h restriction be placed until they can prove to said instructor you are capable.

After this, the instructor can raise this to the limit he feels you are able to SAFELY ride at.

This serves another purpose of making the instructor more accountable, and from feedback I have seen/recieved over the standards of Instruction at some institutions, this may not be a bad thing.

I do not believe the chap who gave me my BHC would argue against my point here

Just my 2c worth!

**mynameis** · 15th March 2006, 20:50

Don't put them on, I never have and never will aye. Ride without it and probably stick to 100k's where you can lol ..:spudbooge

Once you've got them on you get "harrassed" on the roads. If you do get stopped make some crap up like 0oo0oh

it fell off lol.. but in a very convincing way.

Alvin

**Insanity_rules** · 16th March 2006, 06:13

I agree with Blairos the L plate is an idiot magnet! I had it on straight after I got my licence and for a whole week I experienced almost every kind of idiot in a cage!

One noteable was a complete moron tailgating me down High St Lower Hutt. every so often hitting his horn, speeding up and slowing down behind me revving his engine and he nudged me at the giveway near McDonalds. I was doing about 60-65 K's and riding smoothly so I dont know what His problem was!

I ended up pulling over really shaken, Oh by the way look out for a tall dark haired guy driving a grey 88 Mirage Cyborg with 17 inch chrome's and a primered left front panel. If I ever meet him in a dark alley!

Got his plate and rang the traffic hotline, but havent heard anything.

L plate is gone, gone, gone................

Bike Licence should be competency based rather than a set time, run by riding schools and they should teach the skills you need. As for the 70 limit I've never done it, I think its downright dangerous.

**WarlockNZ** · 8th September 2006, 20:30

the crazy thing is this ... no one is doing anything about this stupid law ... until now! ... i aim to petition parliment to have this law revised and have the 70k limit lifted ... we can get into the power to weight stuff later .. although i will admit that the NSW model is a whole lot better ... we have what we have .. here's what i need ... signatures .. thats it .. nothing more ... PM me and i'll send you the form .. get as many sig's as you can and post it back to me .. if enough of us actually get behind this we may be able to make a change. and to all of you who say "good luck" .. just sign the damn form .. yes it's only 6 months but i would rather newbies had the option to keep up with traffic on the motorway than be cage fodder... lets see if KB can get it together ... i'll look forward to sending out a shit load of forms.

**Beemer** · 8th September 2006, 23:09

I'd be happy to support you but PLEASE, learn how to use commas instead of ... as it makes it very hard to read your posts!

Great idea though, the 70kph rule is stupid and dangerous, mostly because the majority of motorists other than motorcyclists are totally unaware it is the maximum speed limit allowable for a learner motorcyclist. I had no idea it existed until I learned to ride. No similar law for car drivers no matter what stage of their licence so the rules should be the same for all.

**WarlockNZ** · 9th September 2006, 09:30

Originally Posted by Beemer

I'd be happy to support you but PLEASE, learn how to use commas instead of ... as it makes it very hard to read your posts!

Great idea though, the 70kph rule is stupid and dangerous, mostly because the majority of motorists other than motorcyclists are totally unaware it is the maximum speed limit allowable for a learner motorcyclist. I had no idea it existed until I learned to ride. No similar law for car drivers no matter what stage of their licence so the rules should be the same for all.

Thank you for your support, i have noticed, however, that you havn't sent me a PM.
Adding your support to the forum is all well and good, but unless KB members are willing to put pen to paper, nothing will get done.

I have a singature sheet ready to go, if anyone would like a copy of it, just drop me a PM your email address and i'll send you a copy.

**McJim** · 9th September 2006, 10:17

I have no problem with wearing the L plate - the fact that other road users use it as a target is where my problem lies. I think some re-education of all road users should apply for safety's sake.

I firmly believe in one law for all and that no sub-set of the populace should be singled out for special treatment which is what the 70kph rule basically is. It takes motorcyclists and applies a different law for that section of the population than it doeas for the others.

I also think Learner motorcyclists should not be allowed on the motorway (should be like UK in this respect) and that the law should have stipulated that rather then this stupid 70kph law.

**Hawkeye** · 9th September 2006, 10:25

I've recently completed my Restricted. Have been riding the bike for 8 months now, always had the plate on the back and generally stayed at the speed of the traffic, be that 70 - 100.
The thing that gets me is the time (10pm - 5am) restriction. I've been driving a cage for 30 odd year. I can drive anytime, day or night but the second I jump onto the bike, I'm restricted.
I can go and do a defensive course for a cage, which reduces the timeframe for the bike full down to 3 month. How the hell does doing a cage training course reduce the restricted time on a bike. If the course is to teach road use and situations, surely 30 years of cage driving with no accidents proves that I have that skill already.

**TLDV8** · 9th September 2006, 12:38

I only read up to Page 2

.......... but.... As far as the 70 kph limit.I got my motorcycle licence in 1977 and that limit was law then also.There is one major difference between then and now,someone remind me what the Open Road speed limit was until the 1980's ?

**Mr. Peanut** · 9th September 2006, 17:04

The learner restrictions are there to justify paying another $100 to sit your restricted test.

**Skyryder** · 9th September 2006, 18:44

I think the L plate is a usefull way to show other road users that's what you are. A learner. The 70k restriction is dangerouse and the fact that the HP tend to ignore this is an indication that this needs to be rectified.

On a more controversial note I have never been an advocate of cc restriction. It is far easier to get over confidant 'earlier' on a smaller cc rating than on a larger one.

Even from a 250cc and up into a larger cc rating there is again going to be another learning curve. Not just with the extra power but the weight of the bike, braking charecteristics etc.

To me it just seems to be safer if you learn on the bike that you want to ride.

Skyryder

**scumdog** · 9th September 2006, 22:02

Originally Posted by MrPeanut

The learner restrictions are there to justify paying another $100 to sit your restricted test.

NOW you're learning!!!

Life is all about learning to cope with being screwed by faceless organisations.

**SwanTiger** · 9th September 2006, 22:20

Originally Posted by scumdog

NOW you're learning!!!

Life is all about learning to cope with being screwed by faceless organisations.

Cope? I prefer to blow shit up, The Jackal and the IRA are my idols

Then again this unique character Joachim Kroll has one of the best excuses for murder I have heard of in all my readings - it went something along the lines of 'I enjoy eating human meat, however it is rare and far too exspensive'.

In appearance and persona he resembles some of the seedy politicians we have in our Government. Perhaps they are very much alike? Mr. Kroll was borderline retarded though he managed to find a footing and walk through life alright. For a good number of years he evaded the Police.

So in summary, he was almost retarded, killed a number of woman and young girls, raped them and in some cases removed parts of their body for his own personal consumption.

Maybe to relate to our politicians and acheive results we must first understand the criminal mind and approach them as a murderus serial killing sexual predator with absoloutely no morals and retarded intelligence.

**SwanTiger** · 9th September 2006, 22:26

If anyone is interested, Joachim was caught when he told a neighbour not to use one of the shared toliets in his building complex as it was blocked with "Guts". The neighbour went and checked it out, only to be disturbed by what he found and called the Police. The police came and determined it was human remains, clued onto Kroll and visited him at his residence. Went inside and guess what was for dinner - the little girl who lived in his street that he had killed and was cooking with veges, what wasn't needed ended up in the toilet.

He never denied anything and answered all of their questions. Also admitted to 14 other murders but couldn't be "sure" as he'd been killing most of his life.

**Wolf** · 9th September 2006, 22:38

Originally Posted by scumdog

NOW you're learning!!!

Life is all about learning to cope with being screwed by faceless organisations.

Faceless? Faceless?

That's not the part of the anatomy I'd say they're lacking.

Look beond the face, bro, look byond the face.

Unless, of course, you were being subtle and were inferring from the lack of face that they are devoid of anything from the neck up...