L plates

paddedjohn

Just a quick question. Apart from driving instructors cars, is it ok to leave L plates on when the learner isnt in the car or is there any law against it?

No real reason just wondering;)

shaun_from_Africa

I would be very surprised to find that there is anything prohibiting the use of L plates when not needed as a very large majority of driving school cars seem to have these fitted as a permanent item.

jimmo

I was stopped by the police about 13 years ago for driving my car with L plates on it.
I was told it was an offence but really it was just an excuse, or reason, to do a routine check.
They found a crack in an indicator lens. I was required to take a breathalyser test, was given a producer for my documents and had to obtain a certificate from an MOT tester that the damage to the indicator had been repaired.
All that took a good half hour plus a bit of running around the next day to visit my garage and the local Police station. Apart from the explanation of why I was stopped, no-one even mentioned the L Plates again and they remained on the car until my son passed his test.

Sagz_2

From the Highway Code:
Vehicles. Any vehicle driven by a learner MUST display red L plates. In Wales, either red D plates, red L plates, or both, can be used. Plates MUST conform to legal specifications and MUST be clearly visible to others from in front of the vehicle and from behind. Plates should be removed or covered when not being driven by a learner (except on driving school vehicles).
[Law MV(DL)R reg 16 & sched 4]

"Should" seems to be the important word.

shaun_from_Africa

All the quoted regulations state is that it is a requirement for drivers on a provisional licence to display L plates.
They make no mention of it being an offence for full licence holders to have them fitted.

As Sagz points out, the HC states that you must fit L plates when required, but you should remove them if not needed.
"Must" in the highway code means it is a legal requirement, but "should" is just an advisory.

scheming_gypsy

if you leave them on you're risking getting stopped as a learner driver must have a full license holder with them. So if you're the only person in the car the police may pull you over incase you're a learner.

paddedjohn

thanks for the replies chaps, i was only wondering because i am seeing more and more L plates being left on cars particularly on motorways and was curious (out of boredom) as to wether this was legal, after all whats the point of having L plates if all they mean is that there is only possibillity that the driver might be a learner but not a certainty.

jimmo

Just as a bit of an afterthought, the area where I live is a pretty good place for learners to practise their manoeuvres like 3 point turns and reversing. However the road signage is pretty diabolical and the whole area is a bit of a maze to those who are not familiar with it.
So it is not unusual to see car, van and lorry drivers who are lost and need help to find the address they are looking for and I am happy to help.
On a few occasions I have approached a car with 2 people in it and asked if they need help/ directions, only to be told by the driver "It's all right, I'm not lost, just practising my manoeuvres."
"Fair enough" says I "I didn't realise because there are no L plates on your car."....
I really don't know, but rather imagine that the police will take a dimmer view of a learner driving without L plates than a licensed driver, driving alone with L plates.

paddedjohn

but whats the point of L plates if they dont distinguish between learner drivers and qualified drivers?

scheming_gypsy

jimmo wrote: »

I really don't know, but rather imagine that the police will take a dimmer view of a learner driving without L plates than a licensed driver, driving alone with L plates.

If there are no L plates on the car then the police can't see it's a learner driver, just like you didn't know...


Although for somebody to practice their manoeuvres, doesn't mean they're a learner..... just that they're possibly not very good.

johnfarquhar74

Another question(thread hijack),
can a learner tow a trailer?
I only ask as there was a rather long queue on the Edinburgh City Bypass (A720) today because a Landrover style vehicle was towing a horsebox. Nothing much wrong with that except the horsebox was weaving between lanes causing the hold up of traffic. It wasn't windy, perhaps they were going too fast, loaded incorrectly, I dunno? BUT, the horsebox and landrover were displaying 'L' plates, when we eventually passed, the driver looked a young girl, maybe 18, with what could have been her mum beside her.
Is this allowed?