Should I remove my L plates?

This is a serious question.


This last week ive been bullied and road raged 4 times and am quite stunned by it. I dont know if its suddenly a new trend or what but having been riding since September ive only really just started to have problems on the road and dont know if im just unucky or the L plate is just becomming a magnet for dickheads.

 

What is the fine these days? I never wore mine for that exact reason, people would swerve at me etc.

If the penalty carries points I'd advise keeping them on though.

 

Personal choice mate, i didnt really wear my L's, and i never got round to picking up any P plates.
Never had a problem, even when i got pulled over for going a little fast

 

Whether it's seen this way or not "L" plates are meant to tell other drivers that you are "learning" to operate your vehicle learning the practical application of the road rules and learning to share the road with other motorists
the dad in me says to keep them on the practical side of me says once your proficient and confident if it falls off then don't notice it's gone

 

Thanks guys, not something i will do lightly, just seems that lately they have ben nothing but a magnet for retards deliberately targetting me.

Either that or im pushing myself harder than i should. Dont think its that cause i dont think im riding any differently.

 

Took mine off after a couple of months due to the same crap, plus i rode alot interstate doing 100km/h... Car drivers are shit. Period, even in a car they do the same bullying road rage, mindless shit.

I would resort to violence, but that equals gaol. So I must let it go, take a deep breath and continue on my merry way whilst fuckwit does the same shit to someone else yet again....

Anyways, keep the plate on. If they are impatient and stuff just follow them until they park their car and then say "whats your problem, cunt?" since you have your helmet on, they can't make out what you are saying :laugh:

 

I took mine off after a couple of months as well, I'm not sure if it was the removal of the L plate or the increase in experience but soon after I took it off I found that I wasn't being harrassed as much. When I borrowed my brother's Spada with the L plate still on it I'm sure that people treated me differently, seems they really want to be in front of L platers, perhaps it is seen as an affront to their mad driving skillz if they are stuck behind a learner.

No problems creating and keeping my road space now with the big green (and loud) ZX9R :thumbsup:

 

I had a friend.....

Who never displayed L or P plates, probably because he was riding a non-learner legal 600 for the duration of both Learner and Provisional periods. Tells me he never got a second look from the Police, as long as he was riding sensibly :thumbsup:

 

I had a friend as well, he didn't display L or P plates because he rode a ZX9R, but he certainly does not advocate any sort of copycat behaviour. He was even bold enough to wave to motorcycle cops and get waves back... it's a good thing he rode sensibly too.

 

I can't say I have ever had a problem when I had L plates. Other drivers gave me a bit more room. I never displayed P plates however as that attracted more attention from other road users who all wanted to race me at the lights (suffice to say, I always won).

If you are attracting unwanted attention displaying L plates, perhaps it is something in the way you ride? When I am in my car, it always shits me when some 250 with L plates pulls some shifty move like lanesplitting through moving traffic, since in my opinion, the L plate kinda suggests a lack of experience.

 

the best thing to do is have confidence - the bullying drivers may feel that they can mess with you wbecaseu you are a nervous learner and may not too comfortable on the road yet. It some cases this may be true - but it most cases you are fresh out of the L's course and have a fresh recollection of the road rules.

I say stand up to them - if they are deliveratley swerving at you i dont see any problem with booting a door or two. Its just plain old intimidation and it shouldnt be tolerated.

If you are in the right, and have been just riding along following the rules - then what they are doing is bullying and they need to be taught a lesson. Whether it be following them and giving them an earful or exacting revenge - you need to stand up for yourself.

However - i wouldnt remove my L plates. they are there to tell "reasonable" motorists that you are learning and to maybe give you some extra space.

 

I find this whole thread bizarre. Maybe it's been blissful ignorance or something, but I've not encountered any arsey behaviour directed at me that could be attributed to my L(oser) plates, with the possible exception of my first week on the road, where the low speed and general lack of coordination kind of gave it away, and even then it took the form of people getting away from me as fast as they could rather than anything malicious.

Hoping to get my Ps soon, and when I do I don't think there'll be any plates involved. I think the only reason my L plate is still in place is that the lads at CMC afixed it so soundly with a twistie-tie on the day of purchase that I haven't been bothered/haven't had the heart to mess with it.

 

I have to say I wore my L's and P's the whole time I was supposed to and didn't notice anybody hassling me for it.

In fact I can confidently say that I've seen just as many d!@#ckheads in tin without L/P plates as with

 

Same, I went the whole time with L and P plates, I didn't get any problems, and I was learning to ride in Sydney :thumbsup:

This may seem rude, but are you sure its not you that's causing the problems on the road? Maybe you're being a bit greedy roadwise? If not, then yeah, I don't know what to say, I rarely get anyone hassling me on the bike.

 

I think I lasted a few weeks on L-plates, just until I felt confident enough that I didn't need people giving me space. I never had anyone hassling me, but some people's attempts at giving me space were fucking horrible, since they drove worse than I was riding at that point. And I've never shown a P-plate, don't have to 'cause I did Road Ready Plus back when I was on my P's for the cage.

 

Ok, i'm lazy, so i didn't read evey post. I just wanted to say this ... do you ride with a bag most of the time? (shoulder bag, back pack .. anything). carry an 'L' plate in it (or even under the seat if you have room) and if you DO got stopped and asked where it is then you can tell them that it has fallen off whilst riding several times, BUT, looksee here, I carry a spare for just such an occasion. :thumbsup:

 

Don't be ridiculous. Motorcyclists are all shiny paragons of virtue and politeness, therefore they cannot possibly be at fault in any situation! *cough* I think you're on to something here. One of the things that has really stuck in my mind from the StayUpright training is that you should never allow others to avoid an incident involving you -- to do so means you aren't being sufficiently vigilant or aware enough to avoid the incident yourself. I think this, out of all the things they teach, is possibly the most important thing.

Yes, cage drivers can be real nobnobs at times, but if you let them put you at risk, you have only yourself to blame, IMHO.

I never noticed any difference between wearing L plate and not. Haven't bothered with a P plate mainly because I haven't found one with holes already in it for ziptie purposes. Not that I've looked very hard...

 

So it's the rider's fault when a car is tailgating them along a single lane road when they are already travelling above the speed limit? It's the rider's fault when a bogan-filled commodore takes offence to being passed by an l-plater at a reasonable speed on a multi-lane road?

Both of those incidents happened to me in my first week of riding whilst I still had my l-plates on. I took them off, and have never had another incident like that. I have since witnessed similar behaviour several times, and even had to be a 'good samaritan' and get in between a car and an l-plater member of this forum because the car was tailgating and harassing her.

 

They say that to give you the right attitude, it shouldn't be taken literally. I can think of numerous situations where there is NOTHING you could do to avoid a crash.

 

there is always SOMETHING you can do to avoid crashing - stay at home and watch star wars instead of riding a motorbike.



sorry - shit stirring....