Thread: P Plates......are they really needed

Originally Posted by Tombie

Ahh the old plates.. a distant memory!

I was on "L"s for 3 days and "P"s for 3 months before I was issued a full licence...

I'm sure some on here just went for a drive with the local Cop and got their licence...


What I don't like is P2s in SA... they're restricted to the 100km/h limit but not required to display a plate in SA...
So you don't know just why that vehicle is only doing 100 in a 110 zone.

Originally Posted by bee utey

No such thing as P plates back in the 70's, you sat your test and got a full licence, as soon as you could manage after your 16th birthday. The visual clue as to your newbie status was the size of the rust holes in your 'Olden or MK1 Cortina.

Even graduated licences for bikes and trucks didn't appear until after I got my car licence, I had to wait 12 months in each case to get rubber stamped for the full truck and bike licences. No extra tests or anything and most of us survived.

Sat theory test at local station as soon as it opened on my birthday and had to wait while paperwork was sent to Adelaide.

'L' plates had to be used for a minimum of 14 days.

Back to said station for the practical test with the local Senior conny and then let loose on the world.

Motor bike test was booked soon after and did a lap around town being followed by same officer who told me off for not indicating enough but passed me anyway.

Circa 1976.

There are Pros and cons weeds - and like everything, everyone has an opinion.

Originally Posted by Tombie

...

I'm sure some on here just went for a drive with the local Cop and got their licence...

...

Not me but a close relative... He went to the police station when he was old enough. They said "I already know you are a good driver, I have seen you driving your father's (8 tonne) truck through town with a full load..."

P-plates did not exist when I got my licence - no separate theory test either, just verbal questions from the cop. And all you had to do to get a learner's was to pay up and fill in a form. This was in Parramatta, not out in the sticks. Four years later I got a Qld licence "out in the sticks" in Aramac. Just a matter of showing my NSW licence at the Police Station, and my licence was unquestioningly upgraded to anything not articulated.

Driving test included a hill start and a reverse parallel parking test. Myself and my twin brother did the test one after the other - he failed on reverse parking. For an interesting reason - we had borrowed an aunt's Austin A-30, because Dad's car had a wonky clutch at the time, which complicated driving. The A-30 was about a foot narrower. Remembering that in those days no cars had outside mirrors on either side, it is more surprising that I managed to reverse park it close enough to the kerb rather than that he did not manage it.

John

Yeah yeah we are all old farts and P's weren't around...

Q was, did you think they are needed or indeed effective.

I think most drivers don't even notice that they are fitted.

Just another useless piece of plastic with no real purpose polluting the world.

Government requires this so they can take more money off the kids when they don't or forget to display them.

Yes I think they are effective..

They make the vehicle a target for police scrutiny, and they make the surrounding drivers aware of their noob status.

I'm an extra level of cautious around P platers; they can be a little more erratic..

Yes, I think the P plates are a good idea, as Tombie comments. I don't think special speed limits for them (or L-plates either) are a good idea though.

There are two reasons for this - vehicles driving at 90 in a 110 zone on a two lane road with infrequent passing lanes (e.g. Newell or Mitchell Highways) are a severe traffic hazard, especially when there is no good reason for it. Further, limiting the speed of L and P drivers means that by the time they get an unrestricted licence, they have had no legal instruction in driving at normal highway speeds.

Most states do not think this restriction is necessary, and I am unaware of any statistics suggesting otherwise.

John

Would far rather learners were obliged to have a certain number of professional hours instruction than a long period on P plates.

I know the affordabilty argument against, but if lessons are unaffordable how can you buy and maintain a vehicle in safe condition?

Having an extended P plate period seems like a lazy "solution" that does little to address the underlying cause.