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My 20yo daughter passed her test a couple of weeks ago and will be picking up her first car in the New Year. I think the green P plates are a good idea, and in my mindset, if I see a P plate, I give the driver a little more room, and a little time. I’m not a nargy driver anyway, but, to me, letting everyone else know you might be a little slow off the mark or what not shouldn’t be a problem.
Mrs Rock, however, thinks they are a sign for nobhead drivers to target you, cut you up, harass and generally be more nobby than they are normally.
Any thoughts or experiences?
You're right.
I don't think knob heads would be purposefully more knobby, maybe I'm giving them too much credit though.
More pertainent question is whether your daughter would have them on her car!
R plates for new qualified drivers have been the law for years in NI. With that comes a speed restriction of 45mph max and lower number of points before you need a retest.
Does it make much difference? Hard to say as there are a lot of single vehicle accident deaths involving young drivers but that may be down to the car culture over here and also it's generally a more rural driving environment
You are right.
Dicks will be dicks, P plate or not.
Ours 'wore' them for a month then they magically disappeared...
Mrs Rock, however, thinks they are a sign for nobhead drivers to target you, cut you up, harass and generally be more nobby than they are normally.
I wouldn't have thought so. Aggressive drivers who treat driving as some sort of competitive game aren't likely to see a driver with P plates as a worthy adversary.
I certainly don't. I go for bigger fish 😉
Don't see the harm in them, but can see the usual impatient drivers taking them like a red rag to a bull, especially if they're holding them up doing the actual speed limit.
To be fair, they'd be like that most of the time, you can sense them when you're about to come up to a dual carriageway section, lining up on your car like they're Lewis Hamilton and they have ERS.
I go for bigger fish 😉
Singletrack members "making progress" in their sporty saloons?
18 year old daughter passed her test 2 weeks ago.
I thought P plates might be a good idea, she didn't.
My wife who hadn't driven for 20 years had them for a bit, if nothing else just to signal to other drivers that there was a high possibility of her doing something unexpected around them. She had them on for a bit and after a while didn't feel the need any longer. We didn't see a noticeable increase in dickish behaviour. In fact I'd say the reverse.
My lad didn't bother, but the key question it is whether it helps the new driver feel more confident.
Driving instructors often report more knobbish behaviour from others when L plates are on display. I can see how this might carry over to a P plate.
"I passed my test, but I know I shouldn't have...!"
Just another piece of plastic to choke us, don't bother. If they are nervous about driving straight off then just start with quiet times and get some extra practice in.
It was some time ago but I had them on briefly when I passed. It seemed to attract some weird behaviour from others so they came off.
Same sort of thing you get from the "must get past the cyclist" driver. I remember someone trying to pass me pulling away from lights (they didn't manage!) and the more common 30mph wrong side of the traffic island overtake.
I'd not put them on. Reasonable and patient drivers will behave well regardless.
Why would you want to announce you are an newly qualified driver? IMHO being anonymous is the way forward. My daughter agrees, she passed a year ago and is baffled why anyone would use a post-L plate. Did you take your daughter out with L plates? Seems to attract a particular kind of thobber, the kind who thinks leaning on the horn is the best way to encourage a learner when they are not quick enough out of a junction.
I go for bigger fish 😉
Singletrack members “making progress” in their sporty saloons?
I prefer to pick on the Nissan drivers sliding uncontrollably about in their wood-burning Micras.
Not needed IMO.
Whether she's quick off the mark or not makes no difference. There's people who've driven for donkeys years who are still nervous and those who take to it straight away with no nerves.
She'll just be in with the varied mix of drivers who populate the roads. And most drivers are decent not dicks.
I’m in the ‘they attract throbbers’ camp.
She doesn’t need em, she’s passed the test.
She’s probably driving closer to test standards than the average driver anyway.
And most drivers are decent not dicks.
We should all remember this more, but of course it's the idiots that tend to stick in the memory.
No from me. She will get more grief displaying them !!
Mrs Rock, however, thinks they are a sign for nobhead drivers to target you, cut you up, harass and generally be more nobby than they are normally
theres a lot there about how men and women are treated differently on the road and I'd maybe lend more weight to her experience and concerns than the opinion of a bunch of blokes on the internet
I used to have a little astra van - when my gf would borrow it she'd remark on how differently, how much better, she was treated by other drivers presumably for no reason other than they couldn't see that a woman was driving it. You'll have a very different experience of driving (and most things really) than your wife and daughter will.
Another here for not using them. Screams lack of confidence. As mentioned above if she wants more practice maybe go out in a quiet spot with a family member. Otherwise some further training. I did pass plus back in the day and, even though I was fairly confident, it helped learn a bit more about different conditions and added to that confidence.
theres a lot there about how men and women are treated differently on the road and I’d maybe lend more weight to her experience and concerns than the opinion of a bunch of blokes on the internet
I used to have a little astra van – when my gf would borrow it she’d remark on how differently, how much better, she was treated by other drivers presumably for no reason other than they couldn’t see that a woman was driving it. You’ll have a very different experience of driving (and most things really) than your wife and daughter will.
Possibly this is relevant. Mrs Rock has a Fiat 500 and suffers seemingly disproportionately with drivers too close or pulling out in front of her. It must be a perceived small car issue with other drivers, when I take the 500 it’s the same. Throbbers driving right on the bumper which doesn’t seem to happen in the bigger family car.
I think it also depends how you drive. Guys tend to be much more positive (not necessarily agressive). I hold back and use "body language" more than MrsG. If there is a car parked on her side of the road she'll pull in really close to make it harder on her to get round it. That's obviously just one example.
Think it's a good idea.
You're both right.
Drivers will likely be one of
1) drive well enough that the p plates are irrelevant since their existing risk mitigation takes into account the kinds of things an inexperienced driver might do
2) give a bit of extra care and consideration
3) use it to identify the soft target for barging in or use it as a sign that they must get in front at all costs
4) are so bloody oblivious the P plate may as well be a cat meme for all the attention they pay to the road
Ultimately it's up to your daughter but to me it's about how you perceive the benefits of 2 vs the risks of 3. Her license, her choice.
Fwiw round here I think you'd get more 3 problems than 2 benefits but 50%+ of drivers seem to be in category 4 to start with.
If it were my boys I would set out pros and cons and leave to them (both are way off driving age yet).
To me, a P plate is a sign of unconfidence/inconfidence (?) but it’ll depend on how confident the driver is maybe?
P platers get no extra leeway from me I’m afraid.
I'm with you (but then, I'm not a dickhead unless I have a keyboard in front of me).
Try it? Go out with, go out without, see if there's a perceptible difference.
It must be a perceived small car issue with other drivers, when I take the 500 it’s the same.
This is absolutely a thing. I remember vividly one day thinking "what the hell is going on today?" after being muscled off the road for like the 12th time, then realising I was in a Micra (dis)courtesy car.
If your car is too small, or too big, no bugger gives you a break. I had an E-class for a short while, indicating just tips the bastards off and then they complain that you never indicate. 🤷♂️
Obligatory in Spain, and I think they're a good idea. It lets you know the driver ahead is less experienced, and more likely to drive slowly or do something unexpected. I'm sure some ****s will see them and do everything they can to get ahead, but as far as I can tell they're a minority.
Same in Oz. And in some states they have different speed limit requirements so it’s a great signal to other drivers that either they’re going slow because they have to, or they’re driving beyond their capabilities. Good signal for the authorities too.
A morning sitting in a magistrates court watching all the p-plate drivers getting fined for stupid behaviour shows the value I think.
There are some useful and helpful comments in this link:
If in a country where it's a legal requirement then people would be used to it and expect to see them on the road. That's not the case here (assuming UK) so it's far less common.
I would say no on a basis there will be more people being dicks than there will being helpful if they notice the P.
I've passed my test, but I'm not confident about driving.
Is what P plates say to me.
Ours didn't want either P-plates or a "black box fitted" sticker so didn't have them
They're old enough to make driving decisions, so why not other decisions?
Should have a similar plate for OAP drivers although most drive a Honda Jazz or a Hyundai i10 to help point them out.
As for people who have just passed their test they are technically the best drivers on the road and while they may not have experience they are probably driving closer to the Highway Code than most drivers.
I should have had a plate with a W on it when I passed as I was a dangerous liability for a couple of years and looking back should not have been allowed on the road!
If they’re not a legal requirement then it’s a ‘no’ from me.
Dicks be dicks.
As for people who have just passed their test they are technically the best drivers on the road and while they may not have experience they are probably driving closer to the Highway Code than most drivers.
I agree. The trouble is that the DI can't teach us the experience to know what the muppet driver next to us is about to do.
In some respects a P or L plate dissuades it - 'give them more room, they're less steady' - OTOH pricks are gonna prick regardless and some of them see the L as a chance to take liberties.