A green P plate on a vehicle means that the person driving has only recently passed their test. Extra consideration should be given to cars displaying a P plate.
A green P plate on a vehicle means that the person driving has only recently passed their test. Extra consideration should be given to cars displaying a P plate.
To hold a licence to drive a moped you have to be 16 years old. To hold a licence for a car you have to be 17 years old, unless you are getting or have applied for the enhanced rate of the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in which case the minimum age is 16. To ride a motorcycle you have to be 17 years old.
If you get six or more points on your licence within two years of passing your driving test then your licence will be revoked and you will revert to a provisional licence holder and must pass another driving test.
If you have category "A" or "A1" on your provisional licence then your licence covers you to ride a motorcycle below 50cc subject to you successfully completing the Compulsory Basic Training Course (CBT). You then hold a CBT certificate for two years and display and comply with all provisional licence conditions, i.e. No passengers, L-plates displayed front and rear and cannot use the motorway.
If you have a Provisional car licence category "B" or "B1" which also gives you category "P", this covers mopeds, and mopeds are motorcycles but you cannot exceed 50km/h (30mph), if you have an internal combustion engine, must not exceed 50cc and if they were first used before 1st August 1977 must-have pedals.
You will have to complete successfully a Compulsory Basic training Course before you can go on the road with L- plates and comply with the same conditions as above.
Yes you can. You should exchange your provisional licence for a full licence as soon as possible although you do have two years after you have passed your test. Failure to obtain a full licence within that time will mean you have to re sit your driving test (theory and practical).
You can drive on your own but you cannot supervise a learner driver, See question in related information for further information.
The DVLA maintains a register of vehicles and their keepers. This register is kept for a variety of reasons including road safety, revenue collection and law enforcement. It is for these reasons that it is important that the person listed as the registered keeper is the person responsible for the day to day running of the car.
The DVLA recognise that a non driver could be recorded as the registered keeper of the vehicle but advise that the registered keeper should be the person who has the responsibility for the day to day use of the vehicle on the road.
From Monday 4th December 2017, four changes were made to driving tests conducted in England, Scotland and Wales. The changes are designed to ensure that new drivers have the skills they need in order to drive safely in modern day driving conditions. Initially, the changes described below will only apply to car driving tests.
Independent driving
The independent driving part of the test i.e. the part of the test where candidates have to drive without turn-by-turn directions from the examiner, will increase from around 10 minutes to 20 minutes.
Using a sat nav
During the independent driving part of the test most candidates will be asked to follow directions from a sat nav but one in five candidates will be asked to follow traffic signs instead.
The sat nav will be provided by the examiner (Tom Tom Start 52), who will set the route the candidate needs to follow – candidates cannot use their own sat nav .
Candidates will be allowed to ask the examiner for confirmation of where they're going and it won't matter if they go the wrong way so long as they don't commit a fault.
Reversing
Whilst the 'reversing around a corner' and 'turn in the road' manoeuvres will still be taught by driving instructors, they won't be included on the driving test. Instead, candidates will be asked to do one of four reversing manoeuvres:
Vehicle safety questions
Candidates will be asked to answer two vehicle safety questions by the examiner – these are known as 'show me, tell me' questions.
Candidates will be asked the 'tell me' question at the start of the test before they start driving. The question will be about how to carry out a safety task e.g. 'Tell me how you'd check the brake lights are working on this car'.
Candidates will be asked the 'show me' question whilst they are driving e.g. 'When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd set the rear demister '.
Your driving instructor will be able to tell you more about the questions that may be asked.
General matters
The cost and duration (approximately 40 minutes) of the driving test will remain the same. Additionally, there are no changes to the way the examiner will mark the test – candidates will still pass so long as they make no more than 15 driving faults and no serious or dangerous faults.
Learner drivers can take motorway driving lessons with an approved driving instructor on motorways in England, Scotland and Wales.
In order to do this learner drivers must be:
Motorways lessons are voluntary - it will be a matter for a driving instructor to decide when the learner driver is competent enough to undertake lessons on a motorway.
It should be noted that:
There are a number of different designs of L plate fixings available, as opposed to the traditional flat plastic plates that have been used for many years. Whilst the law doesn't specify how L plates must be attached to a vehicle, it does require that they must be displayed to the front and rear of a vehicle that's being driven by a learner and they must be the correct size – please see the link below:
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - L plates
L plates should be removed from a vehicle when it's not being used by a learner.
If you fail to display an L plate on your vehicle when you're learning to drive or if it's the wrong size, you can be fined and receive up to 6 penalty points on your driving licence.