L-plate

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A British L-plate

An L-plate is a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for "learner", which must be affixed to the front and back of a car in many countries if its driver is a learner under instruction.

1 Drivers under instruction
2 Newly qualified drivers
3 Similar plates
4 Plate Designs
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Drivers under instruction

Image:Llanfairpwll railway station 053103.jpg

A D-plate on a car parked at Llanfairpwll railway station.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Hong Kong and Singapore the L is red on white; in Malaysia it is red on blue; in Australia and New Zealand it is black on yellow in Switzerland it is white on blue. The signs may be magnetic, made of sticky-back plastic or affixed with suction caps. They can be bought at motoring supply shops and petrol stations. Cars belonging to driving schools often have signs attached to the roof identifying and advertising the school. These signs also carry the required L-plates.

Additional restrictions may be imposed upon drivers with a learner's licence. In Northern Ireland displaying an L-plate restricts the driver to a maximum speed of 72km/h (45mph). In New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania, displaying an L-plate restricts the driver's speed to 80km/h (49mph).

In Wales, a D-plate may be used in place of the L-plate. The D stands for dysgwr, Welsh for "learner".

In British Columbia,Canada new drivers are required to show a black L on a red background during their instructional license.

L-plates are a familiar part of popular culture, and are often jokingly used or referred to in settings analogous to driving tests, such as ordinations, stag nights, etc. As a crossword abbreviation, the word "student" or "learner" often refers to the letter L.

[edit] Newly qualified drivers

[edit] Australia

In Australia the rules vary from state to state, a new driver holds a Learner licence/permit this has a minimum age of 16 and 17 or 18 for P plates. Holders of a provisional/probationary licence may be restricted compared to fully licensed drivers in speed, blood alcohol limits, limits on the type and power of their car's engine (i.e, no more than 6 cylinders, no forced induction), and number of demerit points that can be deducted. In all states, newly licenced drivers are required by law to display P-plates for varying lengths of time. The P is usually a red letter on a white background or a white letter on a red background (Victoria only). In New South Wales there are two classes of provisional licence and so P-plates are red on white for the first year after passing the Learner test and then after taking a computerised test are green on white for two years. Victoria is introducing the same scheme, but standard P-Plates are white P or red, then white P on green.

[edit] Canada

In British Columbia, following the instructional phase and after passing a road test, new drivers are required to show a green "N" (for novice) plate until they have passed an additional road test, usually after 24 months.

[edit] United Kingdom

After learners in Great Britain pass their driving test, they may opt to display green P-plates (for "probationary") to show their lack of experience; this is entirely voluntary however. Some new drivers use green L plates (the pre-test colour being red), however as the L usually stands for Learner it is more common to use P Plates.

In Northern Ireland for one year after the passing of a driving test, the driver is defined as a "restricted driver" who must not exceed 45 mph and must display an "R-plate" consisting of an amber sans-serif R on a white background. L-plates in Northern Ireland commonly have an R-plate as a reverse side. "R-plate" drivers are often viewed as a nuisance on motorways, due to their limited speed, driving many restricted drivers to not display their "R-plates" or keep to the restricted speed limit. ^[1] ^[2]

[edit] Isle of Man

In the Isle of Man for one year, an "R-plate" must be shown after passing the driving test. Restricted to 50 mph on usual un-restricted Manx roads. Unlike Northern Ireland the R plate is a Red R on a white plate. A licence can be obtained at 16 on the island and during the provisional licence a L plate must be shown like Ireland and UK

[edit] Republic of Ireland

In Ireland, you can obtain a provisional license from 17 years of age. While driving on a provisional licence, you must display L-plates (one front, and one rear) and be accompanied by a fully licenced driver. However these laws are not routinely enforced by the Gardaí (Police) at present.

In order to renew a provisional driving licence you must have applied for, or completed, at least one driving test. Upon renewal, a 2nd Provisional licence is issued. This licence is similar to a 1st Provisional, but allows the learner driver to drive unaccompanied. However, upon renewal of a 2nd Provisional, the accompaniment requirement is reinstated.

This unusual arrangement has led to an increasing amount of criticism as efforts to improve road safety have gathered pace in recent years, as it can lead to a situation where a learner driver, having failed their driving test on a 2nd Provisional, can legally drive away from the test center unaccompanied.

[edit] Similar plates

Image:Fahrschule.png

German learner's plate

Elsewhere in the world, varying designs are used. In Germany, a usually red plate displaying the word Fahrschule (driving school) is placed on the vehicles during instruction. In Sweden, the plate is green with the text Övningskör (driving practice)^[3]. In Czechoslovakia, white L on blue field, similar to Swiss one, had been used, but many driving schools ceased from this recently, rather tagging their cars with letters "Autoškola" what means "Car School" or, if you wish, "Driving School".

Image:Placa-l-novel.jpg

Spanish new driver plate

Image:Spanish-l-plate.jpg

Spanish L plate - for driving school

[edit] Plate Designs

Lplate.svg A British/Irish L-Plate	Dplate.svg An alternative Welsh D-Plate	Lplateausnz.svg An Australian/ New Zealander L-Plate	Lplateswit.svg A Swiss L-Plate
Lplatecanada.svg A British Columbian L-Plate	Rplate ni.svg A Northern Irish R-Plate for use after passing test ^[4]	Manxrplate.jpg A Isle of Man R-Plate