L platers

[foznice]

I know that this dosn't apply to you guys at SAU, but I really need to get this off my chest.

I am an L plater, Ive been driving an astra (2003, manual) for about 9 months now and a Commodore VX S (supercharged,auto) for one month. I have had roughly just under 100hours of driving expierience in a wide range of different conditions. I get the feeling that some people (not the people of SAU, not implying that in any way) stereotype L platers similar to the way that P platers are stereotyped. I think the stereotypical image of an L plater would be: driving too slow, stalling, irrational, dangerous etc... This may be true to some extent. I think that everybody makes mistakes during their lives on the roads - probably more often when learning. I've done some stupid things before but I have made sure that I learnt from them. But as a car enthusiast myself, I am always conscience about what I am doing in terms of everything. People around me, gear changes, RPM, speed.. ect.

Where i'm heading with this? I think that some people have a different set of rules to how they behave around and treat L platers (in a bad way). This isn't neccesarily bad... drivers might need to give L platers a little more space or room for error or be a bit more patient if the car stalls ect.... What I'm talking about and getting totally pissed off and engraged about is people tailgating me, people pulling out in front of me, impatient people beeping their horns at me. I know that this happens to everybody but it happens to me a helluvalot more that it does to my parents and oldersister.

The tailgating: Almost everyday i'll be driving to school and i can guarentee you that some f***head is right up my ass. I live out in the sticks and the road to school is full of turns (very hard to overtake) I'm driving at the speedlimit and whats approapriate around corners ect.. (usually no slower then any other driver). When I used to drive 20k's under the speedlimit then I would pull over and let cars through (I can understand peoples frustrations at me driving slow) but now I am driving at the speedlimit, people are up my ass and i don't see that I should feel obligated to pull over or break the law in speeding up. I think with tailgating it's either two things that person up my ass has in thier head: "L plates. Therefore MUST be driving slow (regardless of looking at actual speed)" or 2: an intimidation tactic. Sometimes my L plates will fall off the back windscreen and I notice that I don't seem to have this assriding problem at all.

I find that people will pull out in front of me at unsafe distances or roundabouts and other intersections without traffic lights. Why? Either they are stupid enough to do this to everybody OR they see the yellow square with the black 'L' and think "I don't wanna get stuck behind the slow driver" and think that it's worth pushing the limits a little, to save yourself a couple of seconds. I think you'll find a similar metality with trucks (except you have to be REALLY stupid to pull out in front of a truck to save a bit of time).

Today: Here's what happened: I was driving down Cathies lane in wantirna(ish) (going to granparents house)(Victoria). I approached the roundabout as normal. I remeber loooking at the triangular sign with the roundabout on it. I see a blue falcon ute approaching the roundabout. Think of it like this: I was travelling north, and he was travelling from west to east (I therefore have right of way). Just before I hit the horizontal line(to enter the roundabout). I make eye contact with the driver. I've seen him he's seen me (and the L plates). By time the front wheels of my car has crossed that line (to enter the roundabout) he's pulled out in front of me. I broke hard and hit the horn at the same time. I didn't hit him. Usually when you see this sort of stuff happen the person stops from the initial shock, and then keeps on going. I'm expecting him to keep on driving but he just stays there. I am like WTF is this bloke doing? Then he gets out of the car and starts walking to me (there is also a whole shit load of traffic behind me). Instantly I start thinking of what I have done wrong?, and by the time he reaches my car, I have confirmed that I was in the right and he shouldn't have pulled out. First thing the bastard says to me: " You see that sign behind you? It's a give way sign." At this point i'm remembering the triangular roundabout sign that I saw but I didn't wanna get rolled (and was being intimidated by this bloke) so I said nothing. Then he said: "If a car pulls out on a roundabout he has right of way"(in otherwords if im heading north and he is heading east, then he has right of way) I agrued back: "It's a roundabout, you give way to your right" Then he shouted at me: "That rule went out 2 years ago". I'm thinking WTF..... Then mum starts backing me up and they start arguing... I told mum to be quiet then I said to him :"fine, let's just get on with this, i'm sorry". Then he walks away tellming me that "i need to check my license" That was that. On the way home I checked the sign to clarify for myself and it was a bloody roundabout sign.

Just to clarify again i did checked my L's roadbook with all the basic road laws. It dosn't exactly say straight you give way to your right but thats what it implies. Take a look at the attachement. The book states that you have to give way to vechiles that are already on the roundabout. If you look at the diagram then what he said makes absouloutly no sense. (im heading north and he's heading east) Does that mean that I should go halfway around the roundabout stop the car to let him in? that would defeat the point of a roundabout! And if as the law states that he was on the roundabout first then our paths don't cross, i would just end up behind him as usual. Now let's say that i hadn't yet entered the roundabout, it wouldn't be so bad if it was one of those huge 2 or 3 lane roundabouts where you have plenty of room to slow down but it was one of those tiny ones. (if you live around that area then you probably know what I am talking about). So thats his theory totally rooted.

I half to say that after that I was totally and completely pissed off. When I was talking to dad about it 15 minutes after it happened he said that I shouldn't have hit the horn so that I don't cause road rage. I still don't know if I should have hit the horn or not.. what do you guys think? I know that most ppl hate L platers honking their horns at them regardless of wheather they are doing the right thing or not... But people do it so much to me... and this is what made me start this thread.

I have had an abousloute gutfull with a small minority of people who think that they can look down on L platers or give them a hard time. People can beep at me as much as they won't if stall doing a hill start, but if i beep at someone for actually doing something wrong it's the end of the world? This different attitude given out just because I have a Yelllow plate with a Black L stuck on the windscreens.

I know that P platers have to put up with similar kind of crap in a different way, and it hasn't been too long since you guys had your L's as well, so you probably know how I'm feeling.

If your stilll reading this then thanks for reading.. sorry to bitch and blab, but i needed to get it off my chest and to have it written down so that i could help to clear things up in my head.

Did everybody else encouneter this kind of crap when they had their L's?

[Kaido_RR]

YES i did dont worry you get over it, i drove my r33 skyline on my L's and the faces i got and the actions agains me were just as bad, you get uses to them, just like on my p's driving the speed limit getting a mom speeding past me with childer in the car given me an eye look im like im not the one speed.

But yeah this shit happens all the time on your L's/p's you get uses to it and learn to just ingore those type of people

Dont worry

[Mr. Oizo]

Heh, I just drive like a P Plater, sure it scares the shit outta my mum, but hey, it's no fun otherwise.

[Moanie]

OMG!!! What a TOOL that roundabout guy is!! ediot!!! your experiences on the road should be better than that! and i'm sure they are... but it sux that there are some tools out there that can ruin it all with one bad experience!! HE obiouvsly need to get his eyes check, and resit for his Ls!!!! PLICK!

hehe... yeah...anyway...

[Shell]

by everything you've written, you sound like you'll be a good driver when you get off your L's, so well done and don't worry about the tools...they just like to intimidate anyone they can and L platers are an easy target!! YOU know the rules and you'll be a better driver for it...some ppl should go back to the rule book

people should be patient with L-platers - when you're nervous enough as it is, the last thing you need is people with zero tolerance doing stupid things around you freaking you out even more.

The only gripe I have with L-platers is the REALLY inexperienced ones that go out into full on traffic...I mean if you're afraid to go over 20kms/h or don't know how to change gears or engage the clutch at all, keep it to a quiet suburban area or a carpark until you've got it mostly under control, and THEN get out there in the traffic.

[browny]

So who entered the roundabout first?

The rule is pretty simple. You must give way to all vehicles aready on the roundabout. It doesn't matter which direction you or they are coming from.

Does that mean that I should go halfway around the roundabout stop the car to let him in?

No, you are on the roundabout, you have right of way.

And if as the law states that he was on the roundabout first then our paths don't cross, i would just end up behind him as usual.

Not neccesarily.

[superspit]

Cathie's lane,Wantirna. I lived there for 20 years!!!

hey Foznice, you'll be fine.

We are your 'family' as well. And we'll back you up.

I've been driving for 19 years, and this 5hit still can happen!!

Stay cool, and accept that our community contains 'all-sorts'!!!

Mark.

I'll see you down there some day.!!

[Moanie]

So who entered the roundabout first?

The rule is pretty simple. You must give way to all vehicles aready on the roundabout. It doesn't matter which direction you or they are coming from.

No, you are on the roundabout, you have right of way.

Not neccesarily.

According to this e-mail.. they entered at the same time! if someone if already on the roundabout (as in already entered from the left) of course you don't have right of way! two reasons... 1 - you'd hit him if you hammered it into the roundabout 2 - if he has a;lready entered and you enter after him then you won't make contact at all!

what foznice is saying is they approached the roundabout at the same time. in this case you give way to the person on your right! otherwise there is no point of a roundabout! there will be accidents ALL the time if there wasn't some sort of order!

[r33skylinegtst]

Don't let the dickheads get to you. I'm in the same boat as you, as i'm 17 and still on my L's. Funny thing is that i do all my practice in my car, which as you can probably tell is a GTS-T R33. I usually have people tailgate me regardless of the speeds i do. Funny thing is i'll put my foot down a bit coming out of a roundabout, and watch them slowly try and catch back up, only to sit on my tail again. Pretty pathetic.

What people need to realise is that they were once a learner too. Is it so hard for them to drop back a few k's and give the learner some space? Tailgating an inexperienced driving is one of the dumbest things you can do, you never know when they might stall, slam on the brakes or shift into the wrong gear. it wouldn't take much to crash into the back of them, and then who's in the wrong?

I think the fact that i'm learning in a Skyline only makes things worse, people see the car and the plates and it's like an invitation for them to drive like dickheads around you. Sure, it's only a small minority that gives me trouble, but it's still annoying and stupid regardless.

Oh well, you won't have to deal with it for too long mate, get off your L's as soon as you can and you'll probably notice a difference in the way you are treated on the roads. Not much of a difference, but it beats L plates...

[leb]

foznice

Don't worry about it mate, that guy quite simply NEEDS A LIFE. I'm on my green P's and with so much crap in the media how we're "all bad drivers" I know the discrimination you feel. Just ignore them, its good you've gained a sense of the idiots on the road but yeah don't get too worked up about it

Just remember the golden rule: Common sense prevails!

[geno8r]

I f&^$ing hate tailgaters too... It doesnt happen much at all, rarely really, but when some1 is up my ass i'll go about 10... 15 km/h under the speed limit just to piss them off some more... then once a hill is coming up or a corner i put my foot down & leave them for dead out.... hahah Its perfect, you get to piss them off for driving slower, then piss them off even more because your car is a sh&t load faster than theirs! Hahahaha By the way, any tailgaters I’ve had have always been Holdens too…. *yes.. there’s no link between holden drivers being tools are there? ‘not all holden drivers ofcourse, just a lot of'em*

[KIL.08S]

Don't worry mate, once you get on your P's you will have a whole new set of drama's.

Example: i have had multiple people (generally ladies and generally 50+) literally yelling ans screaming at me to slow down from the side of the road when i have been cruising at under the speed limit in residential style streets. I thing that because you are a P plater with a loud car they assume that you are speeding!

So dont worry, it happens to all of us. You just have to accept that there is some tools out there and look out for them when you are driving. Cause they proberly won't be looking out for you!

[Jae_s15]

Yeah, same as everyone has said, everyone cops it as you go through your plates. You see all sorts of stupid pricks on the road, and it is best just to assume that everyone is about to do the dumbest thing they could possibly do and make sure that you have enough room to avoid it. Occasionally you get a bit of poetic justice though that makes it all worthwhile.

My favourite, was about a week before I got my Ps, while practicing for said test, I had a guy try to overtake me on the outside of a blind left hand corner over a double line because I was only doing the speed limit (which was back in the days were it was still 60 on suburban streets). The bit that makes it fun was that as he decided to do it it just so happened that the next car to come the other way and have to slam on the brakes was alot closer than he thought, and so he had a minor head on... and that car was a police car! I didn't bother to hang around a watch, but I hope he learned his lesson.

Anyone one else got some stories like this to help cheer our new friend up???

Cheers,

Jae

[R32Skyliner]

Yeah, everyone cops it on both L's and P's. I used to not wear my P's because i found that people used to treat me better on the road (ie not tailgate or cut me off). I'm not condoning this activity because it carries a $100 fine for each plate (never happened to me though). But people can be morons, and you'll find that each and every day you'll come across people who have no understanding of the road rules or do not understand common courtesy. Its just a fact that we live in a world of stupidity.

[paully_tee]

lol, sounds dodgy

[2BNVS]

yer i feel for ya dude, drivin my gts-t, i was once in my car with my dad and this older guy probs round 40 cut me off and when we pulled up at the next set of lights he wound down the window and said i dont deserve to have my car coz i was a shit driver ( apparently lol) dads just like yeh whatever mate ur just jelous, drivin his old mistubishi colt and just drove off nice and sleadily...

as long as u know you've done nothin wrong then u have nothin to worry bout, everyone else is f*%ked lol, but yer i understand how u feel, and like said it happens to P's as well so thats a whole new drama scene to deal with...

cheers...ben.

[sammus]

i hear ya

what annoys me: they sit behind me for a while, doing speed limit as i always, they then speed to get infront of me, then slow back down to the speed limit in front of me... hrm...

[R32_GODZILLA]

Ye ive been on my L's for almost a year now, but i havnt had as much dramas as i would've thought.....driving my old mans Nissan Navara ST-R is a handfull in itself being so big (Also driving in St.Albans is a hazard in itself, so many lost drivers and tight roads), i wonder weather some poeple try not to stay up my ass or slow infront of me coz ill probably throw them off the road. Its been a good experience and u learn something new everyday. My old man tells me if someone stays up your ass when turning a corner, just slow down even more to frustrate them, because there is no need to rush or drive so fast when somebody is slowing down infront of you. Anything could happen. Just dont alter the way u drive just to please other poeple on the road, drive the way u feel comfortable in driving, and try not to worry about all the c**kfaces that drive wrecklessly on the road.

Steve.

[Moanie]

WEll said r32_godzilla!

[R32_GODZILLA]

Thanks Moanie