The Knight Bus and Driving in England

[catherinemckiernan]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Shaun Hately" <drednort at a...>
wrote:
> On 1 Jun 2003 at 13:43, Ladi lyndi wrote:
> 
> > Can anyone tell me what the green L's and P's
> > mean that I saw on people's cars?  Someone said
> > they meant that it shows someone is a new driver
> > and I was to either avoid or harass the driver. 
> > So, I'm now confused about what those things
> > really mean.

Shaun replied: 
> We have them in Australia as well.
> 
> L indicates a learner driver - somebody who is unlicensed and
learning to drive with an 
> experienced driver in the passenger seat. P indicates someone with a
probationary 
> licence - a newly qualified driver - somebody who qualified in the
previous 2 years (in 
> the UK).
> 
> It's intended to alert other drivers to the need to be careful
around these people and not 
> to put them under undue stress. The 'harass the driver' comment was
probably 
> (hopefully) a joke. 

<snipping a bit>

> I'm not sure of all the rules in the UK - here, P-Plate drivers also
have restrictions that 
> fully licenced drivers do not - for example, a fully licenced driver
can legally drive with a 
> blood alcohol content of up to 0.05. P-Plate drivers must have a BAC
of 0.00.
          
It's a little bit different in the UK from what it sounds like in
Australia, I think. Here, the only legal requirement is a red L for a
learner  (in Wales you may use a red D). Green L and P are optional,
and most people don't use them; it's a bit too much like displaying a
sign saying 'kick me'. I don't think there is any difference in
permitted blood alcohol limits; however, if you get 6 penalty points
as a result of (eg.) drink driving in the first 2 years after passing
your test, your full license is revoked and you have to pass both the
theory and practical test again. 

Speaking of driving through teeny gaps, was up in the Dales the other
day on a road that involves driving through a wall and imagined the
directions. "Continue until you get to a 15 ft high stone wall. Drive
though it."

Catherine McK (venturing for the first time into Chatter's murky
waters...)