Is it bad if you get caught driving by yourself on your 1st provisional?

Funkstard

I mean a load of my friends are now driving by themselves on provisionals, no one really seems to worry if they get stopped by the gardaí. I know it's illegal to drive by yourself, but is it really that bad or do the gards just let it go mostly?
Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks

Kristok

When i was stopped on my provo they just said you know your not allowed to drive without a fully licensed driver and you might not be covered by your insurance if your in an accident. I dont think they can really do anything there would be too many people off the road if they did, well assuming your not acting like an idiot on the road.

seamus

Depends. I think Gardai are supposed to be taking a tougher stance on this. If you're caught and brought to court, you could find yourself banned for 6 months, which will screw your insurance for years to come.

Is it worth the hassle? No matter how good a driver you think you are, you're on a provisional for a reason.

Shrimp

I'd say they will let you off the first time, the second they will take your name, and after that court.

bazz26

I would be more concerned about your insurance being void if you are involved in an accident. Insurance companies look for any "get out" clause these days to prevent them from having to pay out claims and this could be one of them.

seamus

bazz26 wrote:

I would be more concerned about your insurance being void if you are involved in an accident. Insurance companies look for any "get out" clause these days to prevent them from having paying out claims and this could be one of them.

They can't. They can only void any Fully Comp claims, but by law they must honour all third party claims.

Con9903

Its hard to know for certain, you might meet a complete bollocks and he'd do it just to cause you hassle. Then again I've never heard of them causing any hassle. Once you have your L plates up and you give them a good excuse -eg- I've booked my test, I really need the car for commuting and I can't have a named driver here 24/7. Once they don't pull you over for acting the bollo they should be sound enough.

cormie

I was stopped once with L plates up and all that and It was myself and 3 friends in the car. One guy looks about 25 (the fully insured person is supposed to be over 25 by the way) and the Garda did ask do I have a fully licensed driver in the car and he said he was and we were let go. This was a road block check, not a persuit.

another road block check I had no L plates up, I said I was coming from the pub with my friends, the minute I said that he leaned his head in the window and said what and asked if I had a few, I said no I don't drink, he asked me to step out and to let him smell my breath and then I had to walk on the whie road side line. All flawless so he just said present the car with L plates at local station, I said theres a 24 hr shop up the road that sells them, and I said I'd be back in 10 minutes with them. I came back and all was well:)

As long as you don't conk out when your pulling away :rolleyes:

seamus

cormie wrote:

(the fully insured person is supposed to be over 25 by the way)

Not in this country.

How do these myths get started?

Keano_sli

If you don't have a full licence and you don't have a qualified driver with you get off the bleedin road. You're not experienced, You're not qualified and you're a danger and a nuisance to the rest of us!

Seth Brundle

The insurance companys do have to honour the policy but they can and possibly will start recovering their losses from the learner drivers in the future.
Also, as said it depends who pulls you over. If they are in a bad mood or if you were pulled over for something stupid then you will probably get a heavy book thrown at you.
There have also been cases whereby the gardai went out specifically to capture unaccompanied L-drivers. I can recall one such reported incident near Bray.

cormie

Keano_sli wrote:

If you don't have a full licence and you don't have a qualified driver with you get off the bleedin road. You're not experienced, You're not qualified and you're a danger and a nuisance to the rest of us!

I disagree. I'm still on a provisional myself. Yes, at the start I wasn't experienced, but 20 thousand miles later I do feel I have gained enough experience to be considered a safe driver. The waiting list for a full test is ridiculous. And by that your basically saying that the day before somebody passes their driving test, they shouldn't be on the road, but a day later, just because they have a cert of success, they are safe.

Alun

kbannon wrote:

There have also been cases whereby the gardai went out specifically to capture unaccompanied L-drivers. I can recall one such reported incident near Bray.

And why shouldn't they? Damn right too, it's their job isn't it?

I always knew that there were thousands of unqualified drivers on the roads here, but I'm quite frankly shocked to hear that the Gardai are so forgiving when they're caught.

Kristok

Keano_sli wrote:

If you don't have a full licence and you don't have a qualified driver with you get off the bleedin road. You're not experienced, You're not qualified and you're a danger and a nuisance to the rest of us!

Yeah in an ideal world maby but with the waiting lists and the rubbish transport system in ireland most of us dont have a choice for the first few years. Personally im more worried about the so called experienced drivers who drive like nut cases, at least provos are trying not to get noticed by the guards and are generally good drivers if not a little slow at times.

Con9903

Keano_sli wrote:

If you don't have a full licence and you don't have a qualified driver with you get off the bleedin road. You're not experienced, You're not qualified and you're a danger and a nuisance to the rest of us!

Thats just silly

seamus

Kristok wrote:

Yeah in an ideal world maby but with the waiting lists and the rubbish transport system in ireland most of us dont have a choice for the first few years.

"I don't have a choice" is not an excuse. What did you do before you had a car?

Alun

cormie wrote:

I disagree. I'm still on a provisional myself. Yes, at the start I wasn't experienced, but 20 thousand miles later I do feel I have gained enough experience to be considered a safe driver.

The problem is though that I've only got your word for that, and I don't know you from Adam. For all you know, every time you go out, there could be hundreds of other drivers on the road who have to make allowances for your bad driving, of which you're blissfully unaware. That's why they have a test.

Remember, driving is a privilege, not a right.

Alun

Kristok wrote:

Yeah in an ideal world maby but with the waiting lists and the rubbish transport system in ireland most of us dont have a choice for the first few years. Personally im more worried about the so called experienced drivers who drive like nut cases, at least provos are trying not to get noticed by the guards and are generally good drivers if not a little slow at times.

But how do you know that the driver you're accusing of driving like a nut case isn't just like you, i.e. an unqualified driver not displaying their L plates?

Kristok

seamus wrote:

"I don't have a choice" is not an excuse. What did you do before you had a car?

I spent 2 hours each day each way getting to work which was only a 30min drive. Obviously noone needs a car we could all walk that is a totally other issue, people sometimes need a car just to get around and saying that anyone with a provo license should not be on the road is not fair seeing as it takes like a year to get a test.

Alun wrote:

But how do you know that the driver you're accusing of driving like a nut case isn't just like you, i.e. an unqualified driver not displaying their L plates?

I am a fully qualified driver and if someone is in their 30's driving an 05 car and cutting in and out of lanes its a good chance they are not a provo and just a nutcase. Its not exactly hard to see the nutcases in traffic.

cormie

Alun wrote:

The problem is though that I've only got your word for that, and I don't know you from Adam. For all you know, every time you go out, there could be hundreds of other drivers on the road who have to make allowances for your bad driving, of which you're blissfully unaware. That's why they have a test.

Remember, driving is a privilege, not a right.

Well there is of course the IAM Provisional Ignition test, which I passed. So there has to be allowances and understandings.

Seth Brundle

@cormie - driving for 20k or even a million miles does not make one a safe driver! Also, remember, don't presume you are a safe driver, even with a full licence! Also, IIRC, you showed yourself recently here to act in (IMO) an unsafe manner on a motorway.

Anyway, I think what is becomming apparent here is that many people believe that because the test is not adequate then they should by default be allowed out on the roads.

If you are unsatisfied withg the amount of time you need to spend waiting for a test then either apply for a closer date or get onto your local elected representative (or both). When you then fail, don't whinge because the test centre has a failure quota to fill!

Driving is a privilege, not a right - people should not confuse the two!

Seth Brundle

cormie wrote:

Well there is of course the IAM Provisional Ignition test, which I passed. So there has to be allowances and understandings.

WTF???
Allowances and understandings for what? If you don't have a full licence, then you are not fully competent to drive in the eyes of the law!

The Muppet

How many of us have driven on provisionals while unaccompanied, I certainly have . A car isn't a right or a privilige to many people it's a neccessity. I think Learners driving without L plates is a bigger problem and there are thousands of them on the roads, Or at least I hope that the reasoning for bad driving practices we all see from non L plated cars. I can't say I blame them too much though as a lot of lisenced drivers seem to see L plates a fair game for bit of bullying instead of making allowances for them. We were all learners once

Nuttzz

My friends son was stopped in her car, he had no L plates up (as he doesnt use it very often) and didnt have his licence with him. he was just told to bring his licence and insurance to a station within the next 10 days and sent on his way

cormie

In the eyes of the law I shouldn't break the speed limit in the overtaking lane but as I have been told here, I should as it is safer to do the overtake manoever as quickly and safely as possible. In the eyes of the law I'm not competant to be driving alone. I feel I am.

20K miles doesn't mean by default the driver is safe. It's all about what they learn in the 20K.

The incident you are thinking of was not on a motorway.

I came here to see if I was at fault, I accepted I was.

Alun

cormie wrote:

In the eyes of the law I'm not competant to be driving alone. I feel I am.

So, who's giving you feedback on your driving technique all this time you're driving on your own then? Without that, you aren't really in a position to be claiming that you're driving is up to scratch.

cormie

As I said, I passed the ignition test. This is, I feel, enough feedback. I'm not sure but I'd say it is done under the same basis as the full test itself so I'm guessing that if a provisional driver is capable of passing this test, they are capable of passing the full test. I may be wrong, I suppose only somebody on the inside of IAM could inform us.

fletch

seamus wrote:

Not in this country.

How do these myths get started?

I always thought it was the case where you had to have a fully licenced driver >=25yrs in the car with ya?

fletch

fletch wrote:

I always thought it was the case where you had to have a fully licenced driver >=25yrs in the car with ya?

http://www.oasis.gov.ie/transport/motoring/provisional_driving_licence.html

Car drivers (category with a provisional licence must be accompanied at all times by, and under the supervision of, a person with a current full driving licence to drive a car. (The only exception to this, is where the driver holds a second provisonal driving licence to drive a car).

You're right....it doesn't specify the full licenced driver must be 25+yrs

BrianD

personally, I think the rule should be rigourously enforced for all provisional drivers. There is a very easy way of doing it - the insurance companies should insist that there is no cover if you don't abide by the rules.

While this move would certainly cause difficulty for many there are just far too many provisional drivers on the roads - some seem to be long term provisional drivers. I have even heard of people using addresses in different counties to obtain more provisional licences!

Also there should be a point penalty for full licence drivers who display L plates when they are driving as there is in the UK.

Con9903

In all fairness the driving test still doesn't certify that a person is a good driver as some of them get lucky on that one day and pass.