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 vehicle in many countries if its driver is a learner under instruction, or a motorcycle rider with provisional entitlement to ride restricted motorcycles.

Drivers under instruction

• In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, India, Hong Kong, Norway and Singapore the "L" on the L-plate is red, and background colour of the L-plate is white.
• In Malaysia the "L" is red on a blue background.
• In Australia and New Zealand, the "L" is black on yellow background.
• In Switzerland, Macau, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Poland the "L" is white on blue background.
• In Portugal the "L" is white on blue background with the school location ("Concelho") in red on white background at the bottom.
• In Spain the "L" is white on green background.
• In British Columbia, Canada, "learner" drivers are required to show a black L on a red background during their instructional license.
• In Wales, a D-plate may be used in place of the L-plate. The D stands for dysgwr, Welsh for "learner". D-plates have no legal standing in the rest of the United Kingdom; L-plates must be used instead

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 45 mph. In Spain and Australia (different states/ territories have maximum speed limits for learners, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania and Northern Territory) they restrict the driver's speed to . In Britain, learner drivers are not allowed to use motorway class roads, and learner motorcycle riders are restricted to 125cc vehicles producing no more than 11 kW power.

The signs may be magnetic, made of sticky-back plastic, electrostatic 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.

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.

Newly qualified drivers

Australia

In Australia the rules vary from state to state. A new driver holds a Learner licence/permit which has a minimum age of 16. This must then be held for a certain amount of time before a driving examination can be undertaken at 16 and half. After passing the driver must display '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. VicRoads, the Victorian road authority, publish information for learner drivers on the L-Site.

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, red P-plates are for the first year after passing the Learner test and then after passing a computerised test they are green for two years.

On 1 July 2008 Victoria introduced the Graduated Licensing Systems (GLS).

1. Stage one is a one year P1 probationary licence (with red P plates).
2. Stage two is a three year P2 probationary licence (with green P plates).
3. P1 drivers are prohibited from using a mobile phone of any kind.
4. P1 drivers are banned from towing, except for work or when supervised.
5. P1 drivers can carry no more than one passenger aged 16 to 21.
6. A good driving record will be necessary to progress to the next licence stage.

As of July 2007, newly issued Queensland drivers licences have new restrictions for those under 25. Learners must first log 100 hours of driving experience (of which 10 must be undertaken at night) before taking their practical driving examination. Learners can boost this experience by taking professional lessons which counts for 3 times the hours, for up to 10 hours (or 30 logbook hours.) After a period of one year provisional drivers must then pass a hazard-perception test to move from red to green P-Plates where previously only a 3 year duration was required. New restrictions also prevent any under-25, Queensland provisional licence-holder from carrying more than one passenger under the age of 21, who is not an immediate family member, between the hours of 11pm and 5am.

Speed limits

L-platers and the Red and Green P-platers are restricted in some states to a maximum speed of 80/100 depending on if you are with an instructor 100km/h is allowed., and these values are shown on the respective plates.

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.

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, resulting in many restricted drivers not displaying their "R-plates" or not keeping to the restricted speed limit.

Hong Kong

A one-year probation period is applied to newly qualified private car/light goods vehicle/motorcycle drivers since 2009/2/9 (for private car/light goods vehicle) / 2000/10/1 (for motorcycle). Drivers who applied for driving test on or after that day (not the day they obtain the driving license) will have to undergo the probation period. During the probation period drivers must display a P-plate at the front and back of the car, having a speed limit of 70 km/h if the speed limit of the road is higher than 70 km/h, and cannot use the rightmost lane on expressways having three of more lanes. (Hong Kong is driving on the left.) Motorcycle riders cannot carry passengers during probation period too. If the driver commits a minor traffic offense during probabion period, his probation period will be extended for half year. If he commits a minor traffic offense for the second time or he commits a serious traffic offense during the probabion period, his probationary license will be cancelled, and he must take the driving test again for another probationary license. He is eligible for a full-class driving license when he finishes the probation period successfully. Since the application of all other vehicle classes driving licenses requires the driver having a full private car/light goods vehicle driving license for 2 years after finishing the probation period or 3 years if the full driving license is obtained without probation period, they are considered experienced drivers and hence probation period doesn't apply. (Note: There are two cases that full private car/light goods vehicle/motorcycles driving license can be obtained directly without probation period. One of them is the driver has a foreign driving license and applied for full driving license directly, and the other case the driver applied for driving test before the probationary driving license scheme started.)

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 usually un-restricted Manx roads. Like 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 an L plate must be shown like Ireland and UK

Republic of Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland, you can obtain a learners permit at the age of 17. Before applying for your first learners permit you must pass a computerized Driver Theory Test. When driving on a learners permit, you must display L-plates (one front, and one rear) and be accompanied by a driver who has held a full license for at least two years. These laws were not routinely enforced by the Gardaí (Police), however from 30 June 2008 all learner drivers, including those on legacy provisional licensees, face a fine of €1,000 for a first offence and €2,000 for a second. Similar penalties apply for not displaying L-plates.

A learners permit is valid for two years, and will be renewed once without the holder having sat a driving test. After this, proof of an upcoming test appointment or a recent test failure is required for further renewal. A permit holder may not sit a test for at least six months after receiving their permit.

Prior to October 2007, a "provisional license" was issued which had more lax restrictions - on its first renewal, the holder could drive unaccompanied (but must continue to display L plates), and the accompanying driver did not need any experience, just a full license. The third or further renewals of the license - e.g. after failing a test and the expiry of your second license - brought back the accompaniment requirement. This unusual arrangement led to a situation where a learner driver, having failed their driving test on a 2nd Provisional, could legally drive away from the test center unaccompanied.

Prior to December 2007 an L-plate was not required for motorcyclists. A fluorescent tabard displaying an 'L' on the rear is now required for motorcyclists using a provisional licence or learner permit.

The new measures were brought in in an effort to improve road safety, and will be followed by the introduction of 'tiered licensing', with harsher rules applying to those holding a full license for less than two years. However, the changes were not retroactive. All provisional licenses have since expired however, as they are only valid for a period of two years.

Japan

In Japan, new drivers must display a (or ) on the front and rear of their vehicle for their first year. Although not related to driving experience, the is optional for drivers 70 years old or over and mandatory for 75 years or more.

Similar plates

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). In Czechoslovakia, a white L on a blue field, similar to the Swiss one, had been used, but many driving schools have stopped using them recently, instead tagging their cars with the word "Autoškola" ("car school").

Plate designs

Image:Lplate.svg|A British/Irish/Singapore L-plateImage:Dplate.svg|An alternative Welsh D-plateImage:Lplateausnz.svg|An Australian/New Zealand L-plateImage:Lplateswit.svg|A Swiss L-plateFile:Hk learner plate.png|L-plate in Hong Kong. The letter L and the traditional Chinese character (meaning "to learn") appears on the plate.File:Hk P-plate.svg|P-plate (meaning Probationary) in Hong Kong for newly qualified drivers.File:MacauLplate.png|A Macau L-plateImage:Lplatecanada.svg|A British Columbian L-plateImage:Manxrplate.svg|A Northern Ireland and Isle of Man R-plateImage:Placa-l-novel.jpg|A Spanish new driver plateImage:Spanish-l-plate.jpg‎|A Spanish L plate - for driving schoolFile:Karimen.PNG|L-plate in JapanImage:Wakaba mark.svg|A Japanese shoshinsha mark (for new drivers)Image:Kourei mark.svg|A Japanese koreisha mark (for elderly drivers)

References

External links

• P plate Drivers & High Powered Vehicles - Victoria, Australia
• Information for Learner drivers - Victoria, Australia
• Information for supervisors of Learner drivers - Victoria, Australia
• The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1996, Schedule 4, mandating the design of "L" and "D" plates (not the original legislation which introduced the mark)
• On the design of "P" plates
• P-plate feature article - Daily Telegraph