L Plate on a Motorway

callaway92

Hello, just wondering how strict the guards are on not letting L Drivers on a motorway.

I'll be going to Cork on Saturday from Cahir and don't particularly want to take the old road. I will have a fully licensed driver in the passenger seat.
If at all possible I will take the motorway but wanted to see if they are leniant or not.

Thanks

rebel10

Just take the old road, or if that upsets you, would it be wiser to leave the person with the full license drive? Just switch insurance. Anyway Cork-Cahir isin't that far on the old road, saves you getting in trouble.

callaway92

rebel10 wrote: »

Just take the old road, or if that upsets you, would it be wiser to leave the person with the full license drive? Just switch insurance. Anyway Cork-Cahir isin't that far on the old road, saves you getting in trouble.

It's not that it upsets me
All I asked was are they leniant or not?

rebel10

Can't imagine they would be happy with you seeing that L drivers are never supposed to be on a motorway. Why bother running the risk? Enjoy the nice drive up without missing Cork too much:p

Mint Sauce

its illegal OP, not worth the fine or the points before you even have a full licence

have no idea how leniant they would be it at all

callaway92

ok thanks lads,,,looks like I'll be taking the oul' road

Max Power1

Totally illegal if you are caught!

Although lots of people do it (normally taking off the L plates to avoid detection), there are harsh penalties if caught afaik

callaway92

Max Power1 wrote: »

Totally illegal if you are caught!

Although lots of people do it (normally taking off the L plates to avoid detection), there are harsh penalties if caught afaik

"harsh" penalties?...ok now I defo won't:cool:

cosmic

Max Power1 wrote: »

Totally illegal if you are caught!

Although lots of people do it (normally taking off the L plates to avoid detection), there are harsh penalties if caught afaik

And you're essentially breaking two laws - driving without L plates and driving on a motorway. Totally not worth the hassle.

I've driven down to Wexford a few times from Dublin taking the N11 (which turns into the M11 at three points) and I've been tempted just to stay on for the motorway parts but every time I hop off onto the regional roads and then back on to the N11. Just in case. It's not worth the potential repercussions.

**Timbuk2**

Sorry for thread hijacking, but it's a similar question!

I have my full licence, but my brother is still on his LP so there are L-Plates on the car. Normally we dont' bother putting these up and down (both myself and my mother have noticed no difference in how you are treated on the road whether there are L-Plates up or not). Can I drive on the motorway with L-Plates, or would that only serve to scare/irritate other drivers?

rebel10

Ah you would be fine. If i see a car with L plates on the motorway i just assume that its a car the family uses.

Alanstrainor

Yeah you c an drive with L plates up. It's a bit mad, but afaik there's no law agaisnt doing so.

daveharnett

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

(both myself and my mother have noticed no difference in how you are treated on the road whether there are L-Plates up or not).

Depends on the car. Provided it's not a micra/yaris/punto, the L plate tends to be ignored unless the driving is very poor.

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Can I drive on the motorway with L-Plates, or would that only serve to scare/irritate other drivers?

Provided you are reasonably confident on motorways, can keep up with traffic etc, I don't think anybody will pay any attention to the plate.

ANXIOUS

Im a learner driver i do alot of motorway driving circa 1000 k per month, i dont take down the L plats as if you do get a gardai in a bad day that will just double the fine.

Id say once you feel you are competant enough to drive on it you are, i find it easier to drive on motorways than normal roads.

Also have a look at this thread not one person knows someone who has got done for not having a full licence driver.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055947558&page=4

cosmic

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Also have a look at this thread not one person knows someone who has got done for not having a full licence driver.

Doesn't matter. It's still illegal

daveharnett

irish-stew wrote: »

its illegal OP

Max Power1 wrote: »

Totally illegal if you are caught!

cosmic wrote: »

And you're essentially breaking two laws

cosmic wrote: »

Doesn't matter. It's still illegal

Well done lads, you know the law. Not that anybody asked.

Max Power1

daveharnett wrote: »

Well done lads, you know the law. Not that anybody asked.

:rolleyes:

you convieniently left out the rest of my post FFS. I was merely saying that, while it is illegal, people still do it. You have taken my post totally out of context in order to post a non-informative or helpful reply.

Well done.

Max Power1

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Im a learner driver i do alot of motorway driving circa 1000 k per month, i dont take down the L plats as if you do get a gardai in a bad day that will just double the fine.

Id say once you feel you are competant enough to drive on it you are, i find it easier to drive on motorways than normal roads.

Also have a look at this thread not one person knows someone who has got done for not having a full licence driver.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055947558&page=4

cosmic wrote: »

Doesn't matter. It's still illegal

they are not half as lenient if they catch you on a motorway as an L driver though.

daveharnett

Max Power1 wrote: »

:rolleyes:

you convieniently left out the rest of my post FFS. I was merely saying that, while it is illegal, people still do it. You have taken my post totally out of context in order to post a non-informative or helpful reply.

Well done.

Eh, yeah, fair enough - your post was much more constructive than the others which used the 'i' word. Sorry about that.

cosmic

daveharnett wrote: »

Well done lads, you know the law. Not that anybody asked.

Trolling, on the other hand, is not illegal. It's still annoying though...

Alanstrainor

daveharnett wrote: »

Well done lads, you know the law. Not that anybody asked.

Why bother posting a thread like this if you only want to hear what you want to hear.
It doesn't matter who you are, what age you are, what you drive etc etc, you are still breaking the law and could face a large fine or two. Having some people on the internet tell you that "ah sure you'll be grand" isn't going to make any difference to that.

daveharnett

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Why bother posting a thread like this if you only want to hear what you want to hear.
It doesn't matter who you are, what age you are, what you drive etc etc, you are still breaking the law and could face a large fine or two. Having some people on the internet tell you that "ah sure you'll be grand" isn't going to make any difference to that.

For the record, I got my license a few years ago, having availed myself of the country's previously lax attitude toward provisional license holders. I drove unaccompanied for about six months before taking the test. Now, I'm not for a moment advocating that learners (or anybody else) should flout the law. I went about it the wrong way, because it was easy, cheap and nobody, least of all the Gardai, seemed to care. I fully accept that "Don't do it" is good advice. Just bear with me...

How many posters have addressed themselves to the OP's actual question?

OP wrote:

Hello, just wondering how strict the guards are on not letting L Drivers on a motorway.

This is a trend. Lots of learner permit holders are looking for real facts regarding the enforcement of their license restrictions. After all, it was illegal to drive unaccompanied when I (and lots of now-pious fully licensed drivers) did it, but nobody seemed to care. If the reality has actually changed (and I hope it has), I'd like to see the evidence. Instead, I'm seeing lots of boilerplate "you're being illegal" type responses, which will at best scare a small minority into compliance.

Just for comparison, why is this thread not filled with dire warnings of penalty points for crossing solid white lines? It's illegal too, just not as easy to get righteous about.

Max Power1

daveharnett wrote: »

For the record, I got my license a few years ago, having availed myself of the country's previously lax attitude toward provisional license holders. I drove unaccompanied for about six months before taking the test. Now, I'm not for a moment advocating that learners (or anybody else) should flout the law. I went about it the wrong way, because it was easy, cheap and nobody, least of all the Gardai, seemed to care. I fully accept that "Don't do it" is good advice. Just bear with me...

How many posters have addressed themselves to the OP's actual question?


This is a trend. Lots of learner permit holders are looking for real facts regarding the enforcement of their license restrictions. After all, it was illegal to drive unaccompanied when I (and lots of now-pious fully licensed drivers) did it, but nobody seemed to care. If the reality has actually changed (and I hope it has), I'd like to see the evidence. Instead, I'm seeing lots of boilerplate "you're being illegal" type responses, which will at best scare a small minority into compliance.

Just for comparison, why is this thread not filled with dire warnings of penalty points for crossing solid white lines? It's illegal too, just not as easy to get righteous about.

Max Power1 wrote: »

Totally illegal if you are caught!

Although lots of people do it (normally taking off the L plates to avoid detection), there are harsh penalties if caught afaik

.

danthefan

callaway92 wrote: »

Hello, just wondering how strict the guards are on not letting L Drivers on a motorway.

I'll be going to Cork on Saturday from Cahir and don't particularly want to take the old road. I will have a fully licensed driver in the passenger seat.
If at all possible I will take the motorway but wanted to see if they are leniant or not.

Thanks

I've driven Limerick to Dublin and Ennis to Dublin while an L driver on motorways. I never had an issue. In fact the Gardai always seemed completely uninterested in stopping me for driving unaccompanied as an L driver, I lost count of the number of times I passed Garda cars and even Gardai on foot, they never cared. I reckon if they see you driving responsibly and wearing a seatbelt they'll let you go.

And yes, I know, it's illegal :rolleyes:

ha-ya-said-what

callaway92 wrote: »

Hello, just wondering how strict the guards are on not letting L Drivers on a motorway.

I'll be going to Cork on Saturday from Cahir and don't particularly want to take the old road. I will have a fully licensed driver in the passenger seat.
If at all possible I will take the motorway but wanted to see if they are leniant or not.

Thanks

Pretty sure the time the press release came out about the 14,000 L permit holders caught they stated in it they had zero tolerance for Learner drivers on the Motorway.

And one thing I have noticed in the last 2-3 months is the amount of guards on motorways has increased. I see more and more marked & unmarked cars pulling over other vehicles on the motorways each week and yes some of those cars have L plates on em. They are clamping down like mad on who & what drives on the motorways so to be honest it really isn't worth the risk.

I'd have to agree with Alanstrainor's last post.