The Value of ‘L’ Board on Learner’s Cars


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^^ Agreed. Been there and gone through this. Driving in Bangalore was a real challenge for me, especially a car. Getting it parked(I drove SX4,XUV and Xylo :facepalm:) in busy streets, man that was one hell of a tough job.
 
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Hi Guys, I learned driving about 5 months back from a motor training school.After that i had a break as we did not own a car.Now i have bought a car, i am ok enough at driving.But many a times i had faced stalling at signals.I was planning to put the 'L' board, but according to the rule there should be a person accompanying you with a permanent License.I don't have anyone who can accompany me.What do you guys suggest? Should i put up the 'L' sign? Anyone from Mumbai? Any idea if traffic cops catch hold of you?
 
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Hi Guys, I learned driving about 5 months back from a motor training school.After that i had a break as we did not own a car.Now i have bought a car, i am ok enough at driving.But many a times i had faced stalling at signals.I was planning to put the 'L' board, but according to the rule there should be a person accompanying you with a permanent License.I don't have anyone who can accompany me.What do you guys suggest? Should i put up the 'L' sign? Anyone from Mumbai? Any idea if traffic cops catch hold of you?
Have you passed permanent driving license test and obtained it? If you have permanent license there is no need of the person holding permanent license to accompany you. If you have learner license only,you should to maintain that criteria. I have license but I still use the 'L' board to avoid too much honking. Soon I will remove that plate.[:D]
 
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Hi Guys, I learned driving about 5 months back from a motor training school.After that i had a break as we did not own a car.Now i have bought a car, i am ok enough at driving.But many a times i had faced stalling at signals.I was planning to put the 'L' board, but according to the rule there should be a person accompanying you with a permanent License.I don't have anyone who can accompany me.What do you guys suggest? Should i put up the 'L' sign? Anyone from Mumbai? Any idea if traffic cops catch hold of you?
Rightly said by Sidd7hartha. If you have permanent license with you then there is no need of anyone accompanying you. I would suggest you to paste "L" until you feel confidence in driving. I was also having similar problem of stalling car on signals and junctions, but now overcame it. I have still kept "L" sign on my windshield, will remove it in this month [:)]
 
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Have you passed permanent driving license test and obtained it? If you have permanent license there is no need of the person holding permanent license to accompany you. If you have learner license only,you should to maintain that criteria. I have license but I still use the 'L' board to avoid too much honking. Soon I will remove that plate.[:D]
Hi Sidd, Yes i have passed permanent driving license test and obtained it.But was confused about the rule.Thanks for your suggesstion
 
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How to behave with 'L board drivers'.

Hey TAIgers,
This thread is all about how to co-operate with learner drivers and keep cool while doing so. Many of us lose patience pretty soon and start muttering things, "Ugh! These L board drivers'. Or we tend to give incessant honking too. But we should patiently deal with them.
We must remember that we were also learners at one point, in the same state.
Learner drivers, especially women, are subject to the above mentioned acts. This leads to depletion of their confidence on road and induction of fear. Confidence is the most essential tool for a skillful driver. If we go on to frighten people, we are basically adding in morons on the road right? So keep calm. Try and guide them later if you're a co passenger and if you're a fellow motorist just let the driver handle himself/herself come what may.
But one thing i wanted to convey:
NEVER ever CONFUSE, ABUSE or DISRESPECT a learner driver.
ALWAYS REMAIN PATIENT, COURTEOUS, AND SAFE with learner driver.

As a novice.they do make nerve pinching errors, but errors are what make a non errant driver.
 
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Re: How to behave with 'L board drivers'.

Hey TAIgers,
This thread is all about how to co-operate with learner drivers and keep cool while doing so. Many of us lose patience pretty soon and start muttering things, "Ugh! These L board drivers'. Or we tend to give incessant honking too. But we should patiently deal with them.
We must remember that we were also learners at one point, in the same state.
Learner drivers, especially women, are subject to the above mentioned acts. This leads to depletion of their confidence on road and induction of fear. Confidence is the most essential tool for a skillful driver. If we go on to frighten people, we are basically adding in morons on the road right?
Good thread idsi2005.

Listing some of the things I think which will help to co-operate with learner drivers better :

1. Do NOT honk excessively. Newbie drivers aren't much experienced with clutch-accelerator management and will take more time in closing gaps in traffic.

2. Do NOT tailgate. Driving too closely is bad for your car and it intimidates the learner drivers. Keep in mind that learners may stall the car more frequently than others and if you are following too closely, your car has higher possibility of hitting theirs.

3. Avoid Lane Cutting. When you are aware that a newbie driver is in the adjoining lane, avoid changing your lane if you don't find a suitable gap. This is because newbie drivers take longer time to control all the 3 pedals and any fault can result in a deep dent on your car as well.

4. Do NOT stare at them. Simple reason, it feels uncomfortable and weird. Give up those habits of taxi drivers (turning around to stare the every possible person on the road) for all road users and not just learners.

5. Use low beams. General rule that you should follow for all road users alike. This distracts drivers and will also shake their confidence in night driving, although learner drivers don't usually drive at night.

I will keep on adding more as time passes (or some more come to my mind, to be true [lol]).
 
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Re: How to behave with 'L board drivers'.

Also new drivers some time gets confused with giving indicator, observed few guys give right signal and turns left and vice versa. Also they often forget to switch off indicator even after completing turn. Or giving indicator too early or too late so better to keep safe distance from them
 
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Re: How to behave with 'L board drivers'.

The only two problems I find with L board drivers I have seen till date are:
1) During intense traffic, mind getting focussed on one car/obstacle and ignoring another one.
2) Most classic are inclines, the L board drivers frequently fail to get the car moving easily or without any help.

In both such scenarios I personally prefer to get out of my car and talk to the driver. If they are out of confidence then I simply tell them that I have stopped and they can pass from ahead of my car. On the inclines if I am behind them then I either instruct them of move their car myself.

In fact once I even helped a driver move his car ahead on an incline in a mall. His car started rolling back and he stopped. Just anticipating this that his car can roll back again; I simply moved my Innova ahead to a point that my bull bar was hardly 4-5 centimetres behind the car. He tried to move and bang after rolling back. Since it was a slow collision so this was no loss. I went out and relaxed the guy that now his car won't roll back and he can try any trick he knows to move his car ahead. And what? The guy moved his car ahead in second attempt itself.

What about the people honking behind me when I do it? They are better ignored.
 
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Re: How to behave with 'L board drivers'.

The only two problems I find with L board drivers I have seen till date are:
1) During intense traffic, mind getting focussed on one car/obstacle and ignoring another one.
2) Most classic are inclines, the L board drivers frequently fail to get the car moving easily or without any help.

In both such scenarios I personally prefer to get out of my car and talk to the driver. If they are out of confidence then I simply tell them that I have stopped and they can pass from ahead of my car. On the inclines if I am behind them then I either instruct them of move their car myself. ....
Exactly this kind of attitude is needed on our roads to make our roads better and safe. Good going..
 
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This happen with me , when i took the delivery of my KWID and driving back to home . While taking a U turn , my car stop (i am learner that time) . the Cars behind me start honking like anything and that time i am panic and don’t known what to do .
One SCV (small commercial vehicle ) driver who is just behind me , told me " Take your time Sir, they are idiot ".
 
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This happen with me , when i took the delivery of my KWID and driving back to home . While taking a U turn , my car stop (i am learner that time) . the Cars behind me start honking like anything and that time i am panic and don’t known what to do .
One SCV (small commercial vehicle ) driver who is just behind me , told me " Take your time Sir, they are idiot ".
By your location i guess this scenario is from Pune. Here people start honking even if you slow down your car for tackling speed breakers. [anger]
 
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By your location i guess this scenario is from Pune. Here people start honking even if you slow down your car for tackling speed breakers. [anger]
Mr.GrandRk, if you have chance to drive in VIP Road Kolkata and driving at 60 Km/hr you will be honked from behind,though you have to encounter quite a number of pedestrian crossings in quick succession. In these road drivers drive at 80 km/hr and make hard breaking at crossings.[;)]
 
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I understood the value of L board when my wife revisited her prior learning experience in our car. The presence of L board indeed made people adjust to our car and made learning easier. I always respect L board learners provided they have put proper L board on both rear and front of the car. It is our duty to encourage them to learn car driving the right way. But I don't know why some people think putting a L board as a matter of shame?!
 
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