Driving Unaccompanied

xsjado

indeed, but does the fully licenced driver have to sit in the front, riding shotgun when in a vehicle with learner drivers or can they be seated in the back of a vehicle? whats the law?

xsjado

xsjado wrote: »

quick question.

i am a full c licence holder and some of the lads in the station now are getting experience in the fire appliance by driving back from calls and incidents and also taking lesson with instructors locally.

does the full licence holder "accompanying" the learner driver have to sit in the front of the appliance or can they site in the back seats? same goes for a car i guess. do you have to sit in the front passenger seat when accompanying a learner driver?

thanks

I would say yes, you should be in the front. The appliance should also have "L" plates displayed. And most importantly, you will need to make sure the driver is insured. The service may not cover in the event of an accident if there is a learner driving. And that is not to mention any potential internal disciplinary that may follow.

lehanemore wrote: »

and what if you are a full licence holder being driven home from the pub by your provisional licence holding son or daughter?

given that you, the full licence holder may be over the drink-drive limit.

The fully licensed driver has to be in a position to take over the driving so no boozing.

anneboleyn wrote: »

No you should only display L plates if there is a learner in the car, but I've never heard of anyone being stopped for it.. although I guess it could make a guard think there was a provisional driver driving unaccompanied

You can display "L" plates even if there are five fully licensed drivers in the car. They have to be displayed once there is a person with a learners permit driving.

xsjado wrote: »

indeed, but does the fully licenced driver have to sit in the front, riding shotgun when in a vehicle with learner drivers or can they be seated in the back of a vehicle? whats the law?

The whole point of having a fully licensed driver is that they are giving you a lesson in driving. If the fully licensed driver is not in the front than it can be assumed that there is no lesson taking place. So I would imagine that the offence of driving unaccompanied would apply. Only guessing though.

Delancey

Am I correct in saying that a Disqualified Driver cannot act as the supervisory driver for someone on a provisional ?

Dave147

Irish_polizei wrote: »

First of all, your lucky you had displayed your L plates, it saved you a 1000 yoyo's.

If its your first offence you will not have to present yourself in court, you'll just have to pay the fine.

At the end of the day, you knew it was an offence, you could have saved yourself the hassle and obeyed the law!!!

Sorry we don't all live in perfect-perfect land like you..

Hard luck OP, I imagine it would be pretty hard to drive accompanied all the time, and if I was in your shoes I would have done the same thing, you're probably more careful than alot of the amnesty drivers on the roads anyway, your fine will probably be 60-120 euro, usually no more than that.

congo_90

Op I feel your pain. I've been let off on warnings before on similar grounds. It was very unfortunate that the gard in question was out to lay the book into you. I've seen L platers go through checkpoints unacompanied many times and simply nodded at by the gard.

If you do end up in court then as others said dress smart, admit fault and if you feel the need perhaps get a solicitor although unless he is saving you 300 or more then it's not worth it.

Best of luck on the driving test. Keep the letter with you at all times when driving if unaccompanied. It's not ideal nor legal but it most gards will be sound and give you the benefit of doubt.

sdanseo

Don't agree it was unfortunate I'm afraid. OP knew the law, knew the risk and broke it. Unless it was within 6 months of applying for the LP, in which case I sympathise.

OP, out of curiosity how long have you had the learner's permit? Reason I ask is i disagree totally with the whole 6 month waiting period, FFS if you can drive a car and pass a test it shouldn't matter whether it takes a week or a year to learn how.

delancey42 wrote: »

Am I correct in saying that a Disqualified Driver cannot act as the supervisory driver for someone on a provisional ?

Yup. You also have to have held it for 2 years or more.

unattendedbag

The whole point of having a Driving licence is to prove that you have the skills and knowledge to drive on public roads in this country. A learner Permit gives you permission on certain restrictions to drive an MPV in a public place for the purpose of learning how to drive and improving your skills. Too many people these days are driving around on learner permits thinking they are actually driving licences because they can't be bothered to do their driving test or worse still, cant pass their test.

I know too many people using the learner permit to commute to work everyday on their own, or go on long weekend trips with friends across the country, because they think they suddenly know how to drive. While putting these people off the road may not be the right answer, I believe heavy penalties should be introduced to cut down on the chancers. I for one support the law on unaccompanied learner drivers being brought before courts. Until someone proces they can drive by passing a driving test then they shouldnt be putting the rest of us at risk.

sdanseo

unattendedbag wrote: »

The whole point of having a Driving licence is to prove that you have the skills and knowledge to drive on public roads in this country. A learner Permit gives you permission on certain restrictions to drive an MPV in a public place for the purpose of learning how to drive and improving your skills. Too many people these days are driving around on learner permits thinking they are actually driving licences because they can't be bothered to do their driving test or worse still, cant pass their test.

I know too many people using the learner permit to commute to work everyday on their own, or go on long weekend trips with friends across the country, because they think they suddenly know how to drive. While putting these people off the road may not be the right answer, I believe heavy penalties should be introduced to cut down on the chancers. I for one support the law on unaccompanied learner drivers being brought before courts. Until someone proces they can drive by passing a driving test then they shouldnt be putting the rest of us at risk.

That's a slight generalisation. It took me four goes to get my test to my shame and I stopped driving from when the loophole was closed and the laws tightened until I passed it three months later. I was a veritable angel during that time. As such seeing people plodding around without a care in the world on LP's angers me, but at the same time if they're willing to chance it I don;t really begrudge them.

I might add that of the aforementioned tests only two were fair. I failed one because an RSA idiot misinterpreted my intention, he admitted same himself. Why bother appealing when you still have to wait and retake? Bull****.