"L" Drivers - Do You Give Them Leeway?

Degag

Inpiration from the Baby on Board thread. If you see a L Driver in front of you do you give them more consideration? Personally i take no notice of them bt if i saw L Plates, i would.

Marty McFly

Yeh of coarse id give them lean way i hate seeing dicks tailgating them flashing beeping etc, if i see a clear chance i will go around them or else just sit back and give them plenty of space a lot of people seem to forget we all had to learn at some stage we didnt all start out as the world greatest driver.

Red Hand

I was an L driver once.

Chuck Stone

Of course! I never put them under pressure if they stall in front of me. Everyone was a learner at some point.

Sticky_Fingers

To be honest I don't actually notice the L plate on a car, however if I get the feeling that the guy/gal in front is a bit of a noob on the road I'd back off and give them some room and let them motor on at their own pace.

I remember what it's like to learn to drive and I still carry a hatred for all those impatient dickheads who flashed and beeped as I grinded the gears and forgot to disengage the handbrake to this very day.

Oh_Noes

Yeah I don't give them a hard time either but I always know in the back of my head that an L plate might also mean that the person has a kid/relative learning to drive in the same car.

My worst memory of learning to drive was stalling at a dual carriageway exit, cutting out over and over with an impatient taxi driver behind me honking like a d1ckhead. I'd hate to do that to someone.

krudler

no, baptism by fire is the best way, tailgate, flash, even a gentle nudge of the left or right side rear end, just enough to spin them into oncoming traffic, it'll learn em good.

Chuck Stone

I remember stalling, as an L driver, in front of packed double decker bus. Christ the pressure. Stage fright must feel a bit like that feeling.

PseudoFamous

All learner drivers should be gagged and bound to allow all of our excellent and completely safe older drivers free run of the road.

Hank_Jones

The way most people drive these days,
I would think that most people are L drivers,
they just don't have plates up...
Most drivers in this country are terrible.

I don't give them leeway,
I treat them the exact same as every other shít driver in this country.

Corkboi

Yeah, definitely do. We've all been there.......

Captain Darling

I steer well clear of them...

Minstrel27

I give them no more than I would any other driver. Then I don't drive up the arse of any driver.

Mr Benevolent

I am am L driver. Cut across a taxi not five minutes ago on the Malahide road. Very embarrassing. Need to pay more attention to my left mirror before moving.

amacca

dont treat them any differently...like other posters though if they are showing signs of hesitancy/nervousness I give them plenty of space.

dont like impatient assholes that cant take a second out without blowing horn, flashing light etc if they are delayed for even a milisecond

booboo88

amacca wrote: »

dont treat them any differently...like other posters though if they are showing signs of hesitancy/nervousness I give them plenty of space.

dont like impatient assholes that cant take a second out without blowing horn, flashing light etc if they are delayed for even a milisecond

my younger brother was getting lessons, in one of those dual cars, he stalled at the lights, and of course the bitch behind him started blowing the horn,

it could not have been more obvious that he was a learner, with driving school plastered all over the frickin car :rolleyes: but some people are douches

TestTransmission

Sticky_Fingers wrote: »

To be honest I don't actually notice the L plate on a car.

If your observation is that bad you should be getting an eye test

Minstrel27

booboo88 wrote: »

my younger brother was getting lessons, in one of those dual cars, he stalled at the lights, and of course the bitch behind him started blowing the horn,

I hate people like that. Superman behind the wheel but wouldn't say boo to your face.

booboo88

Minstrel27 wrote: »

I hate people like that. Superman behind the wheel but wouldn't say boo to your face.

god i know, and apparently if you get out of the car you can be brought up on road rage??? oooops:o

Crazy Horse 6

Feck that nothing that a gentle beep on the horn won't solve. Good to see them panic after they stall and then get on the horn and watch them stall again.:pac:

ShadowHearth

I'll give them plenty of space.

Driving on my own and stalling in the middle of busy street was one of the most horrifying experiences in my life lol. I really don't want to wish it to anyone else!

biko

I will give them tons of room, you never know for sure what they'll do.

elmer

as a recently passed driver I get the feeling some people see red when they see the l plates and make a point of doing idiotic things.

some gems include.

Over taking me on the right while my right indicator was on

Gently honking the horn in a 50km zone cos they want to go faster but can't get past - think i would have been minutely above the speed limit at the time.

I recall right at the start when I was learning it was on Bray main street which has 3 sets of lights to pass through - the same guy drove up my ass all 3 times instead of leaving me space. I stalled umpteen times as i was so fearful of rolling back.

now - i'm still not so sure it wasn't just general muppetry but i'll report back in a year

Mint Sauce

Yeab, I was once a learner too. Although I'm likely to be saying something to my self 'think you need more lessons love/mate'.



NSFW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBxloSkObYc

keithclancy

elmer wrote: »

Over taking me on the right while my right indicator was on

Well in fairness on a motorway your indicator doesnt give you right of way

I treat the Learners the same as Qualified Drivers, although I don't flash, beep, tailgate or give the finger to Normal Drivers either.

Although over here your not allowed to learn in mammy or daddys car, or get away with driving on your own with Langer Plates. :pac::pac:

Wats_in_a_name

I remember I stalled at lights when I was learning with my instructor. Guy behind sat on the horn and was going mental. Both of us got thru when it was green but next lights we're red. Instructor told me to stall when they went green just to piss of the guy behind. Was brilliant to see his reaction.

One thing I don't get it on steep hill starts and a driver is obviously learner why the hell do people try and get as close to the learner car as possible? Makes no sense to me at all. I would always leave a good bit of room just in case.

sean1141

keithclancy wrote: »

Well in fairness on a motorway your indicator doesnt give you right of way
:pac::pac:

why would a learner be on the motorway... sur that illegal:D


i remember when i was doing lessons for my test i was driving along a wide straight strech of road that had a 30mph speed limit. i was doing maybe 32-33mph on the speedo. there was this guy stuck to my back bumper blowing and flashing. now the car i was in was a driving school car covered in L plates. any way he got his chance to pass me out. i was full sure he would blast down the road after being ''heald up'' but no he slows down to about 25mph and potters along in front of me. came to traffic lights and my driving instructor got out of the car and eat the $hit£ out of him. she told him if she evre seen him doing something like that again she would report him to the guardi!!

BronsonTB

Go out of my way to avoid & get past them asap...do make allowances for them but also try keep away from them...just too unpredictable....

Cuddlesworth

I've had the pleasure of driving behind my girlfriend while on my motorbike when she encountered a driver with a attitude towards the L plates. As said before, "superman behind the wheel", right up to the point where the guy in bike gear opens your car door in traffic and has a polite word.

robbie_998

if one conks out in front of me, in my head i go "ah sure he's only a baba ! "....... but then again so am i

when driving on a road behind one i give them plenty of distance... i dont bother over taking them cos generally they do near enough the speed limit.

but if it was a case of being on a dual carriage way or a country road with a speed limit of 100KM/h and they are only doing about 60KM/h then yeah i'll overtake when safe to do so.

dmcar02

I would give them plenty of space etc, I know what its like.

However, when I see a learner car (with L plates etc) it's dead annoying when they are unaccompanied, particularly when their driving is really shít, there is nobody with them to show them how to do things properly.

kildare.17hmr

I always give them plenty of room and be patient, i was teaching the OH to drive last year and we were out one evening and these 2 pr!cks in a forgen reg car started driving right up our arse and she was terrified. I hit the hazards and they laughed:eek: i turned around and waved my hand to point at the L sign and they fcukin laughed again! They didnt laugh when i got out at the next round about and slapped an L sign on his windscreen and told him to stop bein a prick:mad:

It set her back weeks! everyone has to learn and we just have to be patient

xaoifsx

i only got my pink license about 8 months ago.. some people are just so cruel to L plate drivers. You need to give them a chance, because I hated it when i felt under pressure on the road. I give learners all the space and time they need.

Just coz some people basically bought their license back in the day it doesnt mean their better!! I have even forgot things from my test ( like checking the mirrors 50 million times) so the learners are better drivers really.. so give them a chance to be safer...

Berty

How many schools of thought are there though?

Learner Driver with somebody in the passenger seat. Possibly qualified driver.

Learner driver on their own. They must "assume" they are confident. Therefore, all bets are off.

Learner Plates on a Motorway. Are they the learner or are they a fully licensed driver driving a car with L plates on it(Husband/Wife/Son/Daughter is the learner but not in the car at the time)

Learner Plates on any other road. See above.

You just don't know but then again a nervous learner is fairly easy to spot. Usually just qualified out of the shopping centre car park and just as shaky on the roads.

Somebody on their umpteenth provisional because they just can't be bothered.

Moral - Drive Defensively.


BTW L-Plates and Nissan Micra drivers get treated the same usually.

W.Shakes-Beer

I am always very considerate to L drivers, sure I was in their position a few years ago. Always give space and don't go insane if they cut out at green traffic lights.

I can't stand to see people getting pig headed with L drivers, its usually the whiskey nosed middle aged man with a chip on his shoulder driving the battered saloon car that loses the rag.

The most common place I see the rage is on the road running along the back of St.Annes park in Raheny. It's a 60km/h road but is fairly wide. If you drive at the speed limit on that road you are nearly guaranteed some muppet will try overtake you, usually in the most dangerous of ways.

A lot of learners use this road as part of the Raheny test centre nearby so there is constantly madness on it.

Heroditas

xaoifsx wrote: »

I have even forgot things from my test ( like checking the mirrors 50 million times) so the learners are better drivers really..

Folks, it's time for a lynching!

cadaliac

TBH, I don't really change my driving habits whether or not the car in front has an L plate or not.
It very easy to spot an actual Learner driver - one that is actually nervous and stalling etc. In this case, yes of course wide birth and all that.
In all the other cases - which to be fair as Beer Barron mentioned, are 90% of the cars with L plates on them, I just treat them the same as any other car. Usually the driver is perfectly confident and moving with all the traffic.
Usual rules apply.

Sobanek

nevermind

Oh_Noes

Confab wrote: »

I am am L driver. Cut across a taxi not five minutes ago on the Malahide road. Very embarrassing. Need to pay more attention to my left mirror before moving.

Don't worry about it. Plenty of taxi drivers will do it to you throughout your driving life and they won't even have the excuse of being learners. Another criteria for driving taxis is a complete ignorance of indicators.

mondeo

I don't give way to learner drivers driving on their own. Not giving them my respect when they should not be sitting in their car unaccompanied.
I drove up their ass and make faces when I see them looking in their mirror at me.

Delancey

I always cut L driver plenty of slack - we were all leraners at one time.

Baby on Board stickers are for arseholes just like those '' Valuing childhood '' ribbons.

psycho-hope

I'm a learner at the mo and I swear to some people L plates are like red rags to a bull, nearly everytime im out with either my instructor or my mother someone plank either drives far to close, throws a wobbly when it takes me a few seconds longer to move off from the littles or my pet peeve, stops as close to my bumper on a hill as they can. The N11 between rathnew and arklow is a bloody nightmare of a road, everytime i drive it someone beeps me, gets pissed off cause shock horror im driving at the speed limit or just acts the prrick.:mad:

RandomAccess

The OH is learning to drive, so as I was in Dublin at the weekend I took her to a car park to get her used to my car. I stuck the L plates on before setting off for the car park, the amount of tailgating I attracted was crazy considering I don't hang about and had other traffic in front of me.. I think maybe the plates were a red rag but maybe its just an impression I had.

Still I will be putting the plates up a few more times and will soon see if theres a definite effect.

Will be bringing a camera along so the dickheads will be famous on boards.ie and elsewhere if they try any funny business.

GTE

My first experience driving had me stalling about 6 to 12 times at a country road junction. The patience of the fellow behind me was well appreciated.

I give L drivers a more then comfortable time.
One thing I do hope for them though is that they can learn how to deal with tailgaters and other silly people fairly quickly. Ideal world they never meet them when an L driver or even a qualified driver but they do and will, so I like to think since they would be with a qualified driver its an early lesson in dealing with the idiots around you.

I am not trying to justify it, merely get a silver lining.

TeddyTedson

I've always given them the leeway. It's the whole point in the L plate isn't it.
However today I was in a major rush and got stuck behind the slowest L driver with an instructor for ages. I was raging. They were doing around 25km/h. It can be infuriating at times.

robbie_998

Delancey wrote: »

I always cut L driver plenty of slack - we were all leraners at one time.

Baby on Board stickers are for arseholes just like those '' Valuing childhood '' ribbons.

Those stickers for baby on board might aswell say

"cant drive... too much pressure.. dont kill me"

seriously if you have kids in the car and you cant focus because of them then you should not have them in the car full stop until you learn to deal with it properly !

shouldn't have to have those stickers on the car

and its not like "ah i got it cos i thought it would look nice in the window"

cos it doesn't .... and i dont see people with empty cars with them !

seriously.. if your soo paranoid about your driving and feel a sticker is gonna save your life then you should be off the road until you learn and remove the stickers !




also on another note

how hard is it to properly put up an "L" sign ?

some of them i see are either upside down or backwards.... how do you manage that ?

patrickgal

kinda have to , everyone has to start somewhere i suppose?

ihateparking

ok so this has nothing to do with L drivers but in to be a good sport i think everyone was an L driver once, like myself. I had a few dodgey days on the road where i was a danger to myself and others but now i've my full licence almost 2 years and i have to say that all those scary moments made me a good driver in the end. But i think it is ridiculous seeing people in cars they can hardly control. It's very annoying as well .

Anyway, I'm here to ask about parking. I've never used boards.ie before and I was just wondering, does anyone know where I could park to go to Quinn's pub in Drumcondra? I'm the designated driver but I don't know where i can park please help anyone???

oldyouth

If they are properly plated and with what would appear to be a qualified driver beside them, of course I do. We all had to learn once and I think it is easy to forget how unnerving other impatient drivers made us feel. If I come across a knob driving on his own in a skangermobile with the white background cut off his L plates and music blaring, then no, I don't. That type make it difficult for other drivers to give the careful learners the patience they deserve

corktina

i always give genuine L drivers plenty of slack.

However not all drivers with L plates ARE learners and not all learner drivers have L plates...oh and some full license drivers SHOULD have L plates! Complicated...

Rovi

Seeing as it's not a legal requirement in this country to remove the L plates when there's no learner driver under instruction at the controls, and they are therefore at best only an indication that there's a learner driver somewhere within that car's list of potential drivers, I treat L plates much the same way as I treat much of the road signage and line marking in this country: something that someone, somewhere, thought was a 'Good Idea' at one time, but that now may or may not be relevant to the actual reality on the ground; each is taken on its own merits and is dealt with depending on the circumstances as they present themselves.

An obviously accompanied learner who is hesitant and nervous will get plenty of space at junctions, hill starts, etc, and plenty of leeway regarding 'making progress' and overtaking, etc.

However, cars with L plates but with only one occupant, or accompanied only by small children, or on a motorway, or with a middle-aged (or older) driver will be assumed to be non-learners, and therefore will be expected to drive at or about the same level of competence as the rest of the driving population; ie. poorly, but given less leeway for having trouble with the really basic stuff.