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

okcomputer

Ok folks from today all those on First Provisionals, Third, Subsequent Provisionals and yes Learner Permits :eek:are subject to possible prosecution -(I know you always have been but there is a real fear they might carry it out this time)

Were you stopped by the Gardai?

Did they waive you on?
Did they warn you?
Did they fine you?

Did you have your L plates on

Mods : If this thread takes off please make it a sticky

Duiske

errr...were the new laws not put back until next June ?

okcomputer

in a way yes, but there is a fear the gardai are going to clamp down straight away for people on provisional licenses other than 2nd provisionals and the 1000 euro fine now applies

cc

before i passed my test i was stopped 4 times by the gardai, each time for tax and waived on....never had to show my licence.
I think they should start to look at licences as part of the norm now, or else these new measures will quickly be forgotten.......remember the 1st week of penalty points, how everyone drove within the speed limit?......until it was quickly realised there were no gardai every few k's aiming a speed gun at you like he was Willie O'Dea :cool:

Stark

Duiske_Lad wrote: »

errr...were the new laws not put back until next June ?

Only for those on their second provisional at present.

j1979p

I, too, would love to know if the Gardai will be enforcing this law. The thing is, if the new laws had been introduced, it would have been easy to spot those who weren't abiding by them (person alone with L plates). At least now they have to do spot checks to see what license you have.

Whatever about enforcing the 1st prov law, I would imagine they would heavily fine you if they found you driving with no L plates up.

givyjoe81

personally i think its a joke, why should those with a second provisional be treated favourably over those with a first one, i mean if they are driving that long they have no excuse for not at least getting a test and should have passed by now, it really gets me cos im on my first provisional and god knows how long im gonna be waiting, what am i supposed to do with my car, my da doesnt drive and never had, he's blind in one eye for christ sake and can barely see with the other one. im an extremely safer driver havent come close to an accident touch wood and it boils my blood to see so many god awfull drivers with a full licence acting the clown on the roads. do the statistics really show that prov drivers are the ones causing the road deaths??

givyjoe81

been stopped a couple of times, just for breath testing and no one has asked about licence, on my own one of the times. i thought the law had stayed the same for those who already have their prov or whatever licence and only affected learner permits, i.e. you were always meant to have a licenced driver with you if you were a learner.

bill_ashmount

givyjoe81 wrote: »

do the statistics really show that prov drivers are the ones causing the road deaths??

Be interesting to know the percentages actually.

Something like 400,000 + provisional drivers. How many drivers on the roads in total and what number of crashes are provisional drivers responsible for?

j1979p

Well I am in the processs of taking plenty of lessons from an instructor, then getting some practise in with a full license holder for a while. I have already applied for a test (probably going to take few months) and as soon as I feel confident, I will be using my car to get to work while waiting for the test.

I'm not gonna wait for the test as I feel that the experience of driving to work unaccompanied every day will help prime me for the test.

If a Garda stops me I will tell him this and cross my fingers..........!

Stark

j1979p wrote:

Whatever about enforcing the 1st prov law, I would imagine they would heavily fine you if they found you driving with no L plates up.

€1,000 fine for no L-plates and €1,000 fine for driving unaccompanied.

givyjoe81

thats how i learned.. i drove to work every day for six months.. have to be honest though, i 'learned' in the space of six days, got a bunch of lessons and had the car i bought there waiting for me, so as the instructor advised me, get out and practice i did, after all if you constantly have some one with your not gonna be able to hack it on your own, besides its silly, they aint driving the car for you and ya should know the rules of the road anyway, or most of em.

anyway's a week after my first lesson i was driving to work, apart from the first day, which was a nightmare of sorts, cut out 3 times at the same lights, thats as bad as it got, although unbelieveably a guard appeared from no where and questioned as to why i wasnt moving, he just smiled said "learner??" " take your time and on your way" hopefully they will use that common sense fair approach to everyone with L plates. unless your acting the clown speeding i dont think they will do you, that was what a few people were saying on radio yesterday, which seems a fair enough appraoch, if your not breaking any traffic laws then we should be ok til we get our test in two years time..

Wishbone Ash

givyjoe81 wrote: »

personally i think its a joke, why should those with a second provisional be treated favourably over those with a first one, i mean if they are driving that long they have no excuse for not at least getting a test and should have passed by now, it really gets me cos im on my first provisional and god knows how long im gonna be waiting, what am i supposed to do with my car, my da doesnt drive and never had, he's blind in one eye for christ sake and can barely see with the other one. im an extremely safer driver havent come close to an accident touch wood and it boils my blood to see so many god awfull drivers with a full licence acting the clown on the roads. do the statistics really show that prov drivers are the ones causing the road deaths??

givyjoe81 wrote: »

been stopped a couple of times, just for breath testing and no one has asked about licence, on my own one of the times. i thought the law had stayed the same for those who already have their prov or whatever licence and only affected learner permits, i.e. you were always meant to have a licenced driver with you if you were a learner.

givyjoe81 wrote: »

thats how i learned.. i drove to work every day for six months.. have to be honest though, i 'learned' in the space of six days, got a bunch of lessons and had the car i bought there waiting for me, so as the instructor advised me, get out and practice i did, after all if you constantly have some one with your not gonna be able to hack it on your own, besides its silly, they aint driving the car for you and ya should know the rules of the road anyway, or most of em.

anyway's a week after my first lesson i was driving to work, apart from the first day, which was a nightmare of sorts, cut out 3 times at the same lights, thats as bad as it got, although unbelieveably a guard appeared from no where and questioned as to why i wasnt moving, he just smiled said "learner??" " take your time and on your way" hopefully they will use that common sense fair approach to everyone with L plates. unless your acting the clown speeding i dont think they will do you, that was what a few people were saying on radio yesterday, which seems a fair enough appraoch, if your not breaking any traffic laws then we should be ok til we get our test in two years time..

givyjoe81 - please use upper case letters when appropriate. This ain't bebo!

givyjoe81

Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amnesiac_ie

My first provisional is due to expire on 17th November. Applied for a test in Cork in February and recently got a date for December. Luckily I was able to change this for a date in Dublin on 14th November... no lessons taken though so I better get practising!

On a practical note, I've been driving daily for 18 months on a first provisional. I've been stopped at routine checkpoints three times for tax and insurance checks; I've never been asked to produce a licence (or never been randomly breath tested).

I wonder will learner drivers be more or less likely to have L plates up when driving alone now, perhaps thinking L plates might attract the attention of the Gardai and be more likely to lead to getting done for driving unaccompanied?

j1979p

Stark wrote: »

€1,000 fine for no L-plates and €1,000 fine for driving unaccompanied.

I'm aware of the fines, I just think Gardai will enforce the L plate much more in my opinion. At least I hope so.

Gauge

Amnesiac_ie wrote: »

My first provisional is due to expire on 17th November. Applied for a test in Cork in February and recently got a date for December. Luckily I was able to change this for a date in Dublin on 14th November... no lessons taken though so I better get practising!

On a practical note, I've been driving daily for 18 months on a first provisional. I've been stopped at routine checkpoints three times for tax and insurance checks; I've never been asked to produce a licence (or never been randomly breath tested).

I wonder will learner drivers be more or less likely to have L plates up when driving alone now, perhaps thinking L plates might attract the attention of the Gardai and be more likely to lead to getting done for driving unaccompanied?

So the waiting list in Cork is 10 months? I want to cry. I applied for mine in June and if they don't get the waiting list down I'll be finished college before I get my test! Which was the reason for me buying a car in the first place I'm in my final year and having my own car means I can stay at college as late as I like in the evening to work... the last bus for where I live leaves at 7.30pm. Boo.

Gadgie

I was stopped once on my first provisional when a Guard was checking tax and insurance. He saw the L plates and asked what type of licence I had. When I told him he asked if I knew I wasn't supposed to be driving on my own, and I said I did but I was waiting for my test and he waved me on. That was the only time I saw a checkpoint when on my provisional so I didn't get stopped for it again.

I personally don't think that they will be enforcing the new law for second provisionals any more than they have been enforcing the current laws for first, third, and so on. But I guess we will have to wait and see.

okcomputer

Gadgie wrote: »

I was stopped once on my first provisional when a Guard was checking tax and insurance. He saw the L plates and asked what type of licence I had. When I told him he asked if I knew I wasn't supposed to be driving on my own, and I said I did but I was waiting for my test and he waved me on. That was the only time I saw a checkpoint when on my provisional so I didn't get stopped for it again.

I personally don't think that they will be enforcing the new law for second provisionals any more than they have been enforcing the current laws for first, third, and so on. But I guess we will have to wait and see.

The other crucial question , and the point of this thread is, are they now enforcing the rule for learner permits, first , third and subsequent provisionals?

wil

okcomputer wrote: »

The other crucial question , and the point of this thread is, are they now enforcing the rule for learner permits, first , third and subsequent provisionals?

The answer I guess is as was in a cartoon (in the Indo or Mirror?) a few days ago.

(lone L-driver listening to car radio)

New rules for L-drivers - "Uh oh:("
Must be accompanied.. - "Uhh Ohh:eek:"
Large fines, points - "UHOh groan:mad:"
Will be enforced with the same stringency as before - "PHEW!:cool::D"

So same old, same old. If you attracted their attention before then you probably will again, if not then maybe they think your style/ability of driving doesnt warrant too many questions.

LegacyUser

so what is the story ?? can we drive till xmas with no driver with us??? im on my first licence

MrPudding

robdcu wrote: »

so what is the story ?? can we drive till xmas with no driver with us??? im on my first licence

No. You never could.

MrP

kelly1979

I really can't see this coming about, I'm on my 1st provisional lisence and personally feel that I learned more about driving when in the car on my own than having someone sitting next to me, obviously u need sum1 to teach u the basics.
I won't be walking past my car on the cold winter mornings that i've paid a fortune for, to pay for a bus into work everyday. The gardai can stop people for being 1st provisionals but I don't think they'll be able to make a case until the legislation is put in place, which I don't know but I think it's not in yet?
Applied for my test in April and am still waiting for a day which makes enforcing this new law ridiculous. :mad:

MrPudding

kelly1979 wrote: »

The gardai can stop people for being 1st provisionals but I don't think they'll be able to make a case until the legislation is put in place, which I don't know but I think it's not in yet?

Have you ever even read the rules of the road? Drivers on first provisionals have NEVER been allowed to drive on there own. No new legislation is required.

I really don't understand people on 1st provisionals complaining about buying a car and now not being able to drive it without the risk of a 1 or 2 thousand € fine. Seriously. Why would you by something you can't use without breaking the law?

MrP

kelly1979

MrPudding wrote: »

Have you ever even read the rules of the road? Drivers on first provisionals have NEVER been allowed to drive on there own. No new legislation is required.

I really don't understand people on 1st provisionals complaining about buying a car and now not being able to drive it without the risk of a 1 or 2 thousand € fine. Seriously. Why would you by something you can't use without breaking the law?

MrP

when u were on ur 1st provisional, every time u got into the car was it with a fully licensed driver; out of interest?

Wishbone Ash

kelly1979 wrote: »

when u were on ur 1st provisional, every time u got into the car was it with a fully licensed driver; out of interest?

Mr Pudding learned to drive in Northern Ireland where the accompanied rule is enforced.

kelly1979 wrote:

this new law

You were always required to be accompanied while on a first provisional licence (unless it's in category A,A1,M or W). The only difference now is that the accompanied driver is required to have held a full licence in the relevant category for at least two years.


(kelly1979 - Please read the Charter - TXT SPK is not permitted on any of the Motors Forums and please use upper case when appropriate ).

kelly1979

fair enough

LegacyUser

yeah but honestly who used to abide this rule , got stopped a few times before and had nothing ever said to me??

MrPudding

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Mr Pudding learned to drive in Northern Ireland where the accompanied rule is enforced.

Also, before I moved south I had no concept of 1st or 2nd or 3rd provisional. You got your provisional license and then you did the test, then you got a full licence. I never met anyone that had more than one provisional licence until I moved south, that said, it might last for 10 years, I don't actually know.

MrP

alan4cult

You don't drive better or worse when you're in the car on your own as opposed to with another driver. You feel that you drive better as you know there is nobody to point out your mistakes and also less pressure on yourself. What is the first thing you do when you make a mistake in any part of life? You look around and when you see that nobody saw you, you feel much better as if "you got away with it". When you see that somebody saw you, you feel a lot different. It's much the same way in a car. Except if there's a blind spot or it was the car's fault or you drive an Alfa (sorry)!

kleefarr

wil wrote: »

New rules for L-drivers - "Uh oh:("
Must be accompanied.. - "Uhh Ohh:eek:"
Large fines, points - "UHOh groan:mad:"
Will be enforced with the same stringency as before - "PHEW!:cool::D"

Funnily enough, that's exactly what I thought when I heard about it.

jmsee

Driving on post 2nd licence last December. Pulled for 100k in 80 zone on way to nct retest. Fined for speeding+penalty points, summonsed for driving unaccompanied, no Ls displayed, no nct displayed (as on way to test centre!!). On the day all but driving unaccompanied struck out. Got €50 fine, consider myself very lucky...

Still think that L drivers are not the cause of all problems on countrys roads. Accidents are fairly heavily dependent on gender (I'm not being sexist, men are just more likely to die or be injured in a car accident particularly those under 26) and men are more likely to pass their test first time so what does the test prove? My ma is happily motoring away on a licence she had to sign for - no test. Not everyone who has a licence is a good driver.

Mr. Presentable

jmsee wrote: »

Still think that L drivers are not the cause of all problems on countrys roads. Accidents are fairly heavily dependent on gender (I'm not being sexist, men are just more likely to die or be injured in a car accident particularly those under 26) and men are more likely to pass their test first time so what does the test prove? My ma is happily motoring away on a licence she had to sign for - no test. Not everyone who has a licence is a good driver.

Of course, you are right. Still, as others have asked before me, would you go to Spain in a plane piloted by someone unqualified to fly? Of course you wouldn't.

nipplenuts

nipplenuts wrote: »

Of course, you are right. Still, as others have asked before me, would you go to Spain in a plane piloted by someone unqualified to fly? Of course you wouldn't.

What a fair analogy

givyjoe81

MrPudding wrote: »

Have you ever even read the rules of the road? Drivers on first provisionals have NEVER been allowed to drive on there own. No new legislation is required.

I really don't understand people on 1st provisionals complaining about buying a car and now not being able to drive it without the risk of a 1 or 2 thousand € fine. Seriously. Why would you by something you can't use without breaking the law?

MrP

I dont know how long you are living in the south but seriously, listen carefully, THIS LAW WAS NEVER ENFORCED.. do you get it now?? We all know we werent supposed to do it but we were 'allowed' to.

givyjoe81

jmsee wrote: »

Driving on post 2nd licence last December. Pulled for 100k in 80 zone on way to nct retest. Fined for speeding+penalty points, summonsed for driving unaccompanied, no Ls displayed, no nct displayed (as on way to test centre!!). On the day all but driving unaccompanied struck out. Got €50 fine, consider myself very lucky...

Still think that L drivers are not the cause of all problems on countrys roads. Accidents are fairly heavily dependent on gender (I'm not being sexist, men are just more likely to die or be injured in a car accident particularly those under 26) and men are more likely to pass their test first time so what does the test prove? My ma is happily motoring away on a licence she had to sign for - no test. Not everyone who has a licence is a good driver.

Read this post carefully Mr P.. nails being hit on the head all over the place.. as for the other pilot comment, for christ sake were not flying jumbo jets, would you let a trainee doctor look after you in hospital?? an equally stupid point.

Mr. Presentable

givyjoe81 wrote: »

were not flying jumbo jets,

No, you're not piloting jumbo jets, but you are piloting a machine with the potential to kill both the pilot and persons otherwise while unqualified to do so.

givyjoe81

Thanks for enlightening me... Oh and i was born on the 3 Nov 2007... Do you honestly believe the current testing system or any testing system in place for drivers takes reckless people off the road. One of my mates is one of the most dangerous drivers i have ever been in a car with, yet passed first time, a typical boy racer so he is. And if i passed tomorrow, would i be better than today? No i wouldnt, it proves absolutely nothing.

Jumpy

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Thanks for enlightening me... Oh and i was born on the 3 Nov 2007... Do you honestly believe the current testing system or any testing system in place for drivers takes reckless people off the road. One of my mates is one of the most dangerous drivers i have ever been in a car with, yet passed first time, a typical boy racer so he is. And if i passed tomorrow, would i be better than today? No i wouldnt, it proves absolutely nothing.

Yes it does, it proves you are legally competent to drive. You are arguing for the sake of arguing, you will not change this.
All I can currently see you doing is cluttering decent threads with useless rubbish.

givyjoe81

Eh the only rubbish i can see is the pure arrogance with which full licenceholders on here have been responding to prov licence holders concers.These threads are here for people to express their opinions, even yours.

Jumpy

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Eh the only rubbish i can see is the pure arrogance with which full licenceholders on here have been responding to prov licence holders concers.These threads are here for people to express their opinions, even yours.

This thread is to post experiences of being stopped while on a provisional. Not for your opinions on the license system. That is being discussed in the other thread.

givyjoe81

Yes your right, i do apologise, im new to this, still finding my way around.

smemon

take the local pub in the local village.

bunch of new guys walk in - *stares* *makes jokes* *points and laugh*, new guys either shut up and lay low or else leave after a while.

if they keep coming back every week and mix in, then they become regulars, they've passed the test.

just like provisional -v- fully licensed. If you're green, you're only a young'on and don't know what you're at. If you're pink, you're 'one of us'.

that's the way i see it, speaking from behind my pink tinted glasses :cool:

pretty stupid as everybody goes from green to pink at some stage (bar the cheaters in the amnesty), but that's the way it is.

Stark

smemon wrote: »

pretty stupid as everybody goes from green to pink at some stage (bar the cheaters in the amnesty), but that's the way it is.

Apart from the people who stay on green forever

Wishbone Ash

Apologies for going off-topic folks.

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Yes your right, i do apologise, im new to this, still finding my way around.

givyjoe81 - you've been flogging a dead horse for a week or so now!

You continually state that many Learner Drivers are better than fully licenced Drivers.

OK - forget about cars and for a moment, and think about buses and trucks.

Bus and truck drivers cannot get work without a full licence in the relevant category. No company will employ a bus or truck driver on a provisional licence.

Do they whinge about being on a provisional and not being able to work?

No - they get on with it and accept that they are unemployable until they pass the test.

I'm sure many provisional licenced bus and truck drivers are better than fully licenced drivers but that's life, whether you like it or not. Society is not perfect.

givyjoe81

Look you guys dont care cos it doenst affect you simple as, thats ridiculous statement. I give up, talking to a brick wall. You think you have all the answers, im sick wasting my time when other points of view seem to be poison to you.

Wishbone Ash

givyjoe81 wrote: »

Look you guys dont care cos it doenst affect you

What do you mean 'it doesn't affect' us? I couldn't get a job driving trucks or buses until I had passed the relevant tests.

givyjoe81 wrote:

I give up, talking to a brick wall. You think you have all the answers, im sick wasting my time when other points of view seem to be poison to you.

Pot and kettle come to mind!

givyjoe81

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

What do you mean 'it doesn't affect' us? I couldn't get a job driving trucks or buses until I had passed the relevant tests.

Pot and kettle come to mind!

Eh lads as i keep saying, i dont disagree with trying to sort out the mess but i dont agree with the manner in which they did it, so i do think i can see both sides of the arguement very clearly.

givyjoe81

You guys will be glad to hear that i passed a checkpoint the other week after the rules were introduced, and nope, they didnt fine me. Thank god for COMMON SENSE.

eth0_

I drove on my own on my first provisional, and I only had my L plates up for a few days when I got my car - there are a lot of dicks out there who like to intimidate anyone they see with L plates on their car.

I was stopped a few times in the year I was doing this - all at checkpoints, never because I was driving badly/doing something illegal. Guard even looked at my licence once and he just waved me on..

mise

I'm on my first provisional and only problem I have with the pending legislation is that the accompanied driver has to have 2 years experience... thats one law Im gonna break. Makes absolutely no sense to me, so if anyone has been questioned bout this I would be interested to hear how it went

Was driving down the road near Kilmacud LUAS last night, accompanied by a friend with a license for 9 years, doing the speed limit, when a quite impatient non L plate driver driving what looked like a 5 series BMW (couldve been a 3 series - twas all a bit of a blur as he passed) overtook about 7 cars, just missed the oncoming traffic and no doubt scared the living bejaysus out of the Learner driver in front of me whom he cut across to miss them.... and it would seem that this person passed their test