On a provisional and been stopped by the Gardai - post your experiences here

j1979p

okcomputer wrote: »

well looks like we are all in the clear then till June (pretty much)

Good tip would be to

• Have your L plates up
• Have you provisional licence with you
• Say you have applied for your test
• I'll be leaving my letter confirming my test date in the glove compartment

Yes, for me this is the best scenario and most sensible (for now). The Gardai are using a commonsense approach. I think that they should immediately fine people for taking L plates down and trying to decieve them. Also, they should fine people who seem to have no interest in applying for a test (still haven't even applied after 6 months of driving).
But as long as we are not overdoing it, I think us 1st provisionals should be allowed to test our skills unaccompanied every now and then and perhaps even be allowed to drive into work depending on our situation.

Seth Brundle

Summoned to court for no L plates and no license.....

lolli

My younger brother was stopped on Saturday night and got a fine of €60, he was on his own in the car.

I got stopped on Friday night, also on first prov but 6 years older than my brother and they told me to go on, never even mentioned my licence.

It seems to me they gave him a fine cos hes a 17 year old boy and didnt give me one cos i'm a 23 year old girl.

Kone

Here's a question for you all.

I had my first provisional in 2000 and it expired in 2002.

didn't bother renewing it as I was out of the country and wasn't driving.

I applied for my 2nd provisional last November and was told I had to sit the theory test, which I did, I then got my 2nd provisional but the "991 999 restriction" was stamped on the licence (which I believe is the first provisional restriction)

I wonder if I can drive unaccompanied?

lolli

No you cant, if you had to sit the theory test then you are back on your first prov licence

Kone

Oh well, I guess it was worth a try!

lolli

Well in saying that, i'm on my first prov and i drive on my own!

Gauge

I was stopped by the gardai the first time I drove somewhere on my own. Pulled into a cul de sac to turn around and didn't notice they were stopped down the road, thinking I was dodging a checkpoint! Nearly lost my life two minutes later when I saw the flashing lights and heard the siren Got pulled over, asked where I was coming from, etc. Took a look at my tax and insurance- thought I was going to be grand when I saw him looking at the L-plates and then he asked for the license. At this stage I was on the verge of a panic attack and when he asked me if it was my first or second provisional I nearly started crying and began babbling and apologising for not having a fully licensed driver with me. The garda said it was fine and looked like he was sorry he ever pulled this raving lunatic over. Asked me a few times if I was sure I was ok to drive and then let me go.

Took me ages to stop shaking Talk about overreacting! Haven't been stopped since. I've been chancing driving to work and college as it's really the only way I can get to both of them, but aside from that I'm avoiding driving as much as I can... can't wait for my test.

lolli

god thats scary alright! i've gotten stopped by the guards 3 times in 3 weeks. one time i was so nervous i kept cutting the car out. was really bad i was surprised he didnt ask me was i drinking :P which i wasnt! nerves get the better of you sometimes

Rhodney

passed a check point yesterday...luckily, they just check the discs...
first checkpoint experience since the new law started:)

Wishbone Ash

Kone wrote: »

I applied for my 2nd provisional last November and was told I had to sit the theory test, which I did, I then got my 2nd provisional but the "991 999 restriction" was stamped on the licence (which I believe is the first provisional restriction)

I wonder if I can drive unaccompanied?

If a period of 5 years of more has elapsed since the expiry of the previous licence the applicant is deemed to be a new applicant again.

Therefore, you were not given a 2nd provisional licence but a new 1st provisional licence. (Hence the requirement to pass the theory test).

Code 991 = 1st provisional licence in that category.

Code 999 = Driver is required to be accompanied.

givyjoe81

Just past a checkpoint at the top of cork street at 11.30pm, quick look at tax and insurance and then waved on, had my L plates up, no problems. So it seems we will be ok til June, at least so far anyway. Anyone know the shortest waiting time in dublin? I would like to apply to a second test centre, for a couple of reasons, one being im not sure if tallaght centre is still open. Anyone know where that is by the way?

Gauge

Passed a checkpoint tonight. Thought I was going to be ok as he was waving everyone through, then he pulled me over and I saw they had pulled over another L driver in front of me and she was getting a ticket :eek:

He took my license (after much fumbling on my part, stupid nerves!), asked how I was, checked my tax and insurance, asked where I was going (the checkpoint was all of about 50 feet before my house), and breathalysed me. I was very nervous and it probably showed, but he let me go and didn't even mention my license!

At this rate I'm going to die of a heart attack before I get my test

po0k

Chill out a bit. If you're that skitterish in front of them, how would you be in a driving situation where you need to be calm and have quick reactions?

They're not going to shoot you.

Gauge

I've been in plenty of situations where I've needed quick reactions and been grand, what does that have to do with being nervous when the gardaí stop me?

faceman

wow, talk about about a thread goin severely off topic!

anywho, like some of my other buddies on this thread, im both a car driver and a biker. Im a full license holder for both the car and the bike but i have done advanced driving lessons for the bike.

Ive been in what you would call 2 serious accidents on my motorbikes, both of which involved other cars. on both occasions both the car drivers were found at fault. Both incidents, the car driver was a learner. The first incident was on my way to work, the second incident was in the evening.

people talk about the common sense approach the gardai should take. The common sense approach would have allowed both those learners drive to and from work. The "common sense" approach therefore allowed those learner drives do me harm.

pretty much all of us agree, the driving test for the car does not necessarily mean you are an excellent driver, but it does mean you have passed the basic competency required to drive a car.

I often wonder if those 2 drivers were fully license, would i have had those accidents. I know they didnt set out to cause me harm. They probably thought they were good drivers because they never had an accident. Im sure they are nice people. Doesnt change what happened to me.

okcomputer

lolli wrote: »

My younger brother was stopped on Saturday night and got a fine of €60, he was on his own in the car.

I got stopped on Friday night, also on first prov but 6 years older than my brother and they told me to go on, never even mentioned my licence.

It seems to me they gave him a fine cos hes a 17 year old boy and didnt give me one cos i'm a 23 year old girl.

Did he have his L plates up?
Did you have your L plates up?

either way good news the fine was only 60 quid

squishywishy

Got stopped about fifteen minutes ago, provisional driver in the car in front of me in her school uniform with 5/6 friends in the car too got pulled over and given a talking to. I had the window rolled down ready for the same but got nothing!!! seems its luck of the draw!!!

Was fairly nervous when i saw them. But in fairness the girl in front of me was all over the road, the car was jumping and chugging and it took her 5 mins to get around the roundabout before the check point!!

hope im as lucky at the next check point!!!!:cool:

givyjoe81

faceman wrote: »

wow, talk about about a thread goin severely off topic!

anywho, like some of my other buddies on this thread, im both a car driver and a biker. Im a full license holder for both the car and the bike but i have done advanced driving lessons for the bike.

Ive been in what you would call 2 serious accidents on my motorbikes, both of which involved other cars. on both occasions both the car drivers were found at fault. Both incidents, the car driver was a learner. The first incident was on my way to work, the second incident was in the evening.

people talk about the common sense approach the gardai should take. The common sense approach would have allowed both those learners drive to and from work. The "common sense" approach therefore allowed those learner drives do me harm.

pretty much all of us agree, the driving test for the car does not necessarily mean you are an excellent driver, but it does mean you have passed the basic competency required to drive a car.

I often wonder if those 2 drivers were fully license, would i have had those accidents. I know they didnt set out to cause me harm. They probably thought they were good drivers because they never had an accident. Im sure they are nice people. Doesnt change what happened to me.

Mate aside from the fact you went off topic i have to pull you up on the learner bashing, all im gonna say is, figures i read in ireland on sunday yesterday:


[/LIST]just over 2 million licenced drivers in total in ireland.

[/LIST]400,000 thereabouts are learners,

[/LIST]of the serious accidents, learners were responsible for 12.5%, compared to the fact that learners account for one fifth the driving population.

[/LIST]of the 'fender benders' learners were responsible for just 11%..

I had the misfortune of meeting 3 total muppet full licence holders on the way home, il spare you the details, but the point is that learners are not wholly responsible for the carnage on roads, there are good learners and bad learners, just as there are some god awfull drivers with full licences. Dont want to start an arguement just wish to stress the point that its not all our fault, and im sorry but yes it is 'common sense' not to suddenly enforce a never enfoced law over night, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded. Not as if we can get the bus..

Lets keep it to the thread.

faceman

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Mate aside from the fact you went off topic i have to pull you up on the learner bashing, all im gonna say is, figures i read in ireland on sunday yesterday:
Lets keep it to the thread.

i think you missed my point chief. This thread went way off topic a few pages ago. nowhere in my thread do i learner bash. I merely give my experiences of accidents i have been involved in. Maybe you can point out how thats learner bashing? 2 serious accidents is alot more than most people will be in over the space of their lives.

there are bad drivers at all levels on irish roads. some posts on this thread make out that learner drivers are the saints and that all full license holders are a greater danger. The point is those with less experience are more at risk of causing accidents.

re the stats in Ireland on Sunday, stats are fine to a degree but it doesnt give the show the full picture.

* Drivers at fault only accounts for drivers directly causing an accident.
* It doesnt give stats on the number of provisional license holders who dont have a car or dont drive regularly. You need to look at actual driving days spent per annum for each category.
* 70,000 provisional licenses are for motorcycles
* i dont know what is meant by fender bender statistic (as i didnt see the article)
* as full license holders are the majority on the road, they will be involved in the majority of accidents

givyjoe81

faceman wrote: »

i think you missed my point chief. This thread went way off topic a few pages ago. nowhere in my thread do i learner bash. I merely give my experiences of accidents i have been involved in. Maybe you can point out how thats learner bashing? 2 serious accidents is alot more than most people will be in over the space of their lives.

there are bad drivers at all levels on irish roads. some posts on this thread make out that learner drivers are the saints and that all full license holders are a greater danger. The point is those with less experience are more at risk of causing accidents.

re the stats in Ireland on Sunday, stats are fine to a degree but it doesnt give the show the full picture.

* Drivers at fault only accounts for drivers directly causing an accident.
* It doesnt give stats on the number of provisional license holders who dont have a car or dont drive regularly. You need to look at actual driving days spent per annum for each category.
* 70,000 provisional licenses are for motorcycles
* i dont know what is meant by fender bender statistic (as i didnt see the article)
* as full license holders are the majority on the road, they will be involved in the majority of accidents

Didnt read back to see it going off topic myself, thought it still was, i just thought you were announcing that you were going to do so. Anywho i just expected it to degenerate into that because i quoted the stats, but in fairness i think the stats are a greater authority than personal opinion whether it be yours or mine. Thats show that full licence holders are in a dis proportionate number of accidents, 8 percent is a faily big gap in the stats.

I used fender bender as i couldnt remember the exact wording, minor accidents with some damage i think, not to sure, obviously just the reported ones. As for driving days, same goes for full licence holders, no way of knowing if all of them own cars or even drive on a regular basis. What im saying is, if learners are so bad then they would account a larger percentage of accidents than their actual percentage represention on the roads.

I dont think that this thread makes learners out to be saints, it just defends the point that we are not all nervous wrecks and an accident waiting to happen.

mthd

Got stopped today on a first provisional, guard asked me if i was aware i was driving unaccompanied :rolleyes:, then just waved me on

okcomputer

mthd wrote: »

Got stopped today on a first provisional, guard asked me if i was aware i was driving unaccompanied :rolleyes:, then just waved me on

good stuff , presume the oul L plates were up

congo_90

was stopped at a checkpoint about a week ago. I'm on a 1st prov and need the car to drive to work and home. I work in Clonee in a pub so busing home isn't practical.
I rolled up to the checkpoint.
G: licence.
me:(hands licence)
G: (checks tax, insurance etc) where you coming from?
me: work.
G: where's that?
Me: that pub(name not put in)
G: your on a provision licence.
Me:i know im sorry but my mother is the only one in the house with a full licence. i dont think it would be fair having her come down here at 2.30 in the morning everyweekend to collect me.as you can see there are no buses and i live 3miles away. It isn't practical for me to get to work and back without the car. Especially cos we're sharing this car. She wouldn't be able to get here.

G: seems fair case, have you applied?

Me: yes just before new laws were introduced. I dont drive unaccompanied unless going to work* (exception for rainy days going shop)

G: right fair enough, Drive safe now.


Jesus what a relief!!! my heart was goin some rate!!!

Wishbone Ash

givyjoe81 wrote: »

just over 2 million licenced drivers in total in ireland

2,400,000 approx.

400,000 thereabouts are learners

431,000 on provisional licences

of the serious accidents, learners were responsible for 12.5%, compared to the fact that learners account for one fifth the driving population.

Provisional licence holders account for 18% of the current driving licences held. However many younger provisional licence holders use their licence for identity purposes and not for actual driving.

I'm open to correction but aren't those statistics compiled from insurance claims? Insurance claims don't give make accurate statistics. In material damage accidents, many younger drivers will not make a claim to protect their NCB, whereas older drivers will claim for relatively minor damage.

I had the misfortune of meeting 3 total muppet full licence holders on the way home,

How did you know that they held Driving Licences? We regularly hear on this forum that many learner drivers do not display their 'L' plates!

Lets keep it to the thread.

Apologies for dragging it off topic again! :eek:

givyjoe81

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

2,400,000 approx.

431,000 on provisional licences

Provisional licence holders account for 18% of the current driving licences held. However many younger provisional licence holders use their licence for identity purposes and not for actual driving.

I'm open to correction but aren't those statistics compiled from insurance claims? Insurance claims don't give make accurate statistics. In material damage accidents, many younger drivers will not make a claim to protect their NCB, whereas older drivers will claim for relatively minor damage.

How did you know that they held Driving Licences? We regularly hear on this forum that many learner drivers do not display their 'L' plates!

Apologies for dragging it off topic again! :eek:

True not sure what the stats represent, but i dont think they are just for incurance claims, as they were mentioning serious accidents also, but not too sure. They are the only stats we have so still a better authority than any one persons opinion. Im sure the same could be argued that many full licence holders dont drive day to day or even have a car, it just means that they have a passed the test. As for a means of ID, i seriously doubt that a significant majority of L drivers use their licence for just identification and not driving.

Also it cant be said with any kind of certainty, what percentage of learners do or dont actually drive, same goes for this whole no L plates thing. Also we hear that L drivers 'dont' display their plates, again how does anyone know this without actually stopping these drivers and beating the truth out of them? Also far less likely with the new fines, as i think anyone with common sense will drive unacompanied rather than with no plates, as it seems there is less chance of being done for it. I think it's fair to assume now that some one driving with no plates is a full licence holder, we cant keep blaming the learners..

Oh and the muppets i mentioned and their driving status wasnt just based on their lack of L plates, but also on their age and car they were driving, but more so the age.

eringobragh

givyjoe81 wrote: »

I think it's fair to assume now that some one driving with no plates is a full licence holder, we cant keep blaming the learners..

4 of my mates on provisonals & don't have their 'L's... up i suppose the other 430996 drivers have their 'L's up :rolleyes:

I could link to heaps of posts put up on boards by people saying that they taking their 'L's down because of the new legislation.

givyjoe81

eringobragh wrote: »

4 of my mates on provisonals & don't have their 'L's... up i suppose the other 430996 drivers have their 'L's up :rolleyes:

I could link to heaps of posts put up on boards by people saying that they taking their 'L's down because of the new legislation.

So what if you can?! how many people posted this?! Still no way of knowing how many actually do it, just cos a few have posted saying so and i might add that they are fools for doing so,because if they are stopped i believe they will be fined, i have been through a couple of checkpoints with L plates up and havent been fined or even questioned. Also I take it your implying that your mates are bad drivers :rolleyes:

Seriously enough of this L drivers are rubbish crap, its just ridiculous at this stage, at least i am willing to admit that there are of course crap L drivers out there, but they are not in the majority and as i have stated and the figures would seem to back up , there are plenty of sh-it-e full licence holders too, are taxi drivers not all full licence holders, experienced ones at that ..

Its just a bit silly that everytime someone complains of a thick on the roads without L plates up, the reaction seems to be "oh that must a learner with plates down..", sorry but that's just crap, As I mentioned earlier i noted the guys that i met on the roads were highly likely to be full licence holders and not a learner. Another point i would mention is that how do you know that all the dodgy L plate drivers you see aren't shared owners? i.e. sharing with a learner but a full licence holder themselves?

For the love of god can we keep it to the thread please!! And yes i know i went off, but just to answer a point!

Rhiannon14

What is the big deal with taking a stinking road test in this country?

givyjoe81

Rhiannon14 wrote: »

What is the big deal with taking a stinking road test in this country?

Is that for me? Il answer just in case.. I HAVE MY TEST BOOKED FOR DECEMBER....