# UK/US Driving Licences **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2007, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454 "2007-12-28T10:23:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/101 "2007-12-31T14:23:29Z")
[QUOTE=Vetch] Really, how old are you? I’ve never seen anything other than a red “L” on white white background and it has been [since at least 1930](http://www.normandyhistorians.guildford-surrey.co.uk/library/l-plate2.jpg) [/QUOTE] Only 41, but 24 years ago the rule was simply that the L had to stand out (I forget the exact phrasing), so on some cars having a different-coloured L made sense. Don’t get me wrong: the red L was the standard, but others existed. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/102 "2007-12-31T14:28:38Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] Green L plates are technically illegal. [/QUOTE] I’ve got to ask ‘cite?’ on that one. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/103 "2007-12-31T14:29:50Z")
**Vetch** , go to Wales, where you might spot a D plate instead 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/104 "2007-12-31T15:07:45Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] If it makes you feel any better, I had five crashes in the first year, and two the next, culminating in me writing off my dad’s Mini. [/QUOTE] Hah hah…I’ve had three crashes but none were my fault. Crashes 1 & 2 were caused by dozy twats rear-ending me, crash 3 was a drunk who slammed into my nearside after shooting a red light, this was a write-off, the other 2 were not. I’ve only ever had one parking ticket in my driving career and that was scrubbed 'cos I was on Royal Mail business and the dozy traffic warden ignored the Royal Mail Crown which was displayed on my front screen. Am I entitled to feel smug? :dubious: BTW. Green L plates are not illegal and there are moves afoot to introduce “N” plates which signify that the driver is new to a particular area ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/105 "2007-12-31T18:31:27Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] **Vetch** , go to Wales, where you might spot a D plate instead 🙂 [/QUOTE] I do, quite a bit, all the way to the Liberty Stadium. Unfortunately not to watch the Swans beat Leeds though 🙂 I don’t know how long that “D” plate has been in force but I rarely see it. **Quartz** have you got a cite for > [@](#): > > 24 years ago the rule was simply that the L had to stand out (I forget the exact phrasing), so on some cars having a different-coloured L made sense. Don’t get me wrong: the red L was the standard, but others existed. I gave you a cite for what the legislation for the L plate was in 1930, I could give you another for the 1940s - it was red - I passed the test in 1959 (it was still red) and the current legislation says it is still red. > [@](#): > > [Laws MV(DL)R reg 16 & RTA 1988 sect 87] > > Vehicles. Any vehicle driven by a learner MUST display red L plates. In Wales, either red D plates, red L plates, or both, can be used. Plates MUST conform to legal specifications and MUST be clearly visible to others from in front of the vehicle and from behind. Plates should be removed or covered when not being driven by a learner (except on driving school vehicles). > **[The Highway Code - Annex 3. Motor vehicle documentation and learner driver...](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/annex-3-motor-vehicle-documentation-and-learner-driver-requirements)** > > Information and rules about motor vehicle documentation and learner driver requirements. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/106 "2007-12-31T18:35:20Z")
What are these L and D plates? I am thoroughly lost. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/107 "2007-12-31T18:42:21Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] What are these L and D plates? I am thoroughly lost. [/QUOTE] An [L plate](http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/677549/2/istockphoto_677549_l_plate.jpg) is a sticker that represents a Learner driver, and displaying them front and back is a legal requirement for learners on the public highway in the UK. In Wales, people can opt to display this in the Welsh language, wherein the word for Learner is “dysgwr”, and thus the plate is a [D plate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Llanfairpwll_railway_station_053103.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/108 "2007-12-31T18:45:54Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] What are these L and D plates? I am thoroughly lost. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure about the D plates, but the L plates are for people who are driving under something like a learner’s permit. I guess it warns other drivers. People who have these L plates, they still need a licensed adult with them when they drive, right? We don’t even have learner’s permits in NH (at age 15 1/2 you can drive as long as there’s an adult over 25 in the passenger seat. No tests of any kind required first), so I’m a bit fuzzy on how that works in the US, never mind the UK. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/109 "2007-12-31T18:52:02Z")
Our learner’s permit is called a “provisional licence”. If you are driving on a provisional licence on the public highway, you must have a fully licensed driver in the passenger seat at all times. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/110 "2007-12-31T19:22:19Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Our learner’s permit is called a “provisional licence”. If you are driving on a provisional licence on the public highway, you must have a fully licensed driver in the passenger seat at all times. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure how this works with motorcyle learners. Are they allowed to carry a pillion passenger? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/111 "2007-12-31T19:36:27Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] I’m not sure how this works with motorcyle learners. Are they allowed to carry a pillion passenger? [/QUOTE] Details here :- [Motorcycle Training](http://www.acemotorcycletraining.co.uk/rulesregs.html) As you can see, you must be followed by a qualified driver who is in radio contact with you. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/112 "2008-01-02T01:49:33Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] I’ve got to ask ‘cite?’ on that one. [/QUOTE] My earlier post gives the cite: all L plates must be red. As for a cite for what the rules were 23 years ago, I’m sorry, but I can’t give one. I don’t have a copy of the highway code from that era, and the only photos I’ve turned up on Google are black & white. I do, however, remember remarking on the subject at the time and being put straight by the instructor. Of course, the instructor (and thus I now) may have been mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/113 "2008-01-02T11:50:43Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] My earlier post gives the cite: all L plates must be red. [/QUOTE] It says that L plates on a car driven by a learner must be red, and that these are to be removed at other times. It doesn’t actually say that green ones cannot be displayed by a qualified driver, though. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/114 "2008-01-02T17:42:06Z")
> [@](#): > > As you can see, you must be followed by a qualified driver who is in radio contact with you. … er, not quite. Learner motorcyclists are restricted on power to a maximum of 11kW - 14.6 bhp, and no larger than 125cc capacity, and to ride on the road you must have completed your “Compulsory Basic Training”(CBT) within the last 2 years. There are other variants such as holding a moped licence and some age restrictions, or holding a full car driving licence which was passed prior to 1st Feb 2001 - those passing the car test after this date must complete the CBT. You do not need to be accompanied to ride such a restricted machine. The only time you can ride something larger than this is when being escorted by an approved motorcycle instructor undergoing instruction via radio or to a test centre to take a test with a Ministry of Transport examiner. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454/115 "2008-01-05T00:22:24Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] It says that L plates on a car driven by a learner must be red, and that these are to be removed at other times. It doesn’t actually say that green ones cannot be displayed by a qualified driver, though. [/QUOTE] Ooh! A very nice distinction indeed. You’re quite correct. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-us-driving-licences/431454.md?page=5)