Your Drivers License

[Holden_Man]

The thread about SA P platers got me wondering about what everyone went through to achieve an open drivers license.

Apart from having an impatient father for a driving instructor getting my license was relatively simple. A couple of days after turning 16, with birth certificate in hand, I marched on down to the Croydon police station and got my learners permit. Made an appointment for my practical the same day. 2 weeks later at the Henley Beach police station, with a young copper sitting next to me who didn't seem terribly interested, I had an open license. I missed the P plates by 2 years.

The year was 1978. There were no restrictions on what powered car I could drive and virtually no limits to what you could do to a car. And of course petrol was only 12 cents a litre then so fuel economy wasn't a major issue.

How did you guys and girls get on with yours? What do you have to go through now for an open license now?

If I had my way getting a license to drive would be very difficult. Education is the key. Not restrictions. The restrictions clearly don't work. Kids should be learning this stuff in schools. At least 2 years before they can touch a steering wheel. It's worth a go. The current sustem is a failure. Wouldn't hurt to teach them where the oil and water goes. And while we're at it teach them to change a bloody tyre.

[quick308]

I got my learners while i was at school, they did the test in class, and I passed. I then got a certificate that i bought to service tasmania, and got my learners, i then had to have 50 hours of driving exerience recorded in my log book before I could go for your p's in another year. It was really easy to pass the test when i did it almost seven years ago, all you had to do was 1 reverse park, a three point turn, and a hill start. Three years later when i turned 20, i got my full licence.

[minux]

I got my licence first shot in Vic day I turned 18, 2 days later was off to Army, at Singleton transferred my licence, straight onto full licence

I think I was on P's for around 4 months total

[Big_Simmo]

Got my license first go over here in Perth, As we all know no restrictions here so I just got stuck with P plates for 2 years.

[Tree cutter]

I went down to the rego office the day i turned 16 and answered all the questions to get my learners permit and passed. This allowed me to ride a motorbike of any size on my own but if i had a pillion passenger they had to be licenced. I had to have a licenced driver with me in a car or truck. To get my full licence i just had to go for a drive with a driver assessor for my car licence and then again for my bike licence. I got a good laugh when the driver assessor stalled his bike on the hill start. While i was at school i did a driver training course which was good because our teacher was a rally driver and took us out on the gravel roads where he used to race his rally car so we learnt some car control skills. We used to do time trials through a course of witches hats, we were even taken out on the highway where we could drive at the open speed limit. I couldnt believe that i didnt have to do any of this to get a licence. Things were different back in the 70s though. I remember one of the students at high school used to ride a Honda 750 four to school which was one of the fastest bikes around at the time. Another student always drove his EJ Holden with a 20 litre drum for a seat that just sat on the floor and you didnt even have to have seat belts.

[Demonica]

Went and did my written test and got my learners the day I turned 16 1/2. Was great then didn't have to display L or P plates on your car. Mum let me drive round the industrial estate in her hunk of junk Ford Falcon till I got the hang of it before she let me drive in actual traffic. Lost count of how many times she nearly put her foot through the passenger side floor trying to brake. Did 2 lessons with the driving instructor since mum couldn't reverse park for shit, let alone teach me how to do it. Got my Ps the day I turned 17 and had to keep them for 3 years before getting my opens at 20. Got my license before the other half though (even though he's 4 years older) dumb ass did his test just before I did and failed for speeding in a school zone

[Astranomical]

I did my written test and got my learners when I was 18 7 years ago, from memory just before the L plate laws came in. Went for my practical driving test a little while later and failed the first time for holding up the car behind me and then doing 70 in a 60 zone. Then about a year after going for my written test I went for my practical test again and passed. Had my P's for 3 years and then went onto my Open license in 2007.

I have to agree with what others have said...I think the system really needs to improve, while a lot of new restrictions have come in, its hardly really changed since I got a license, and it hasn't changed for the better...as Holden_Man said, they should be teaching traffic safety in schools, ideally at about the time you turn 14.

[maginoodle]

they only used to do licences on mondays here.
so on the monday before i turned 17 i went to the cop shop to get my L's. The sarge said it was about time i came to get them(he had been watching me drive with no licence before that). had to answer 15 questions on paper and was allowed (by the rules) to get 3 wrong. sarge told me i had to get all 15 correct. i got them all correct and he wrote out my permit. he then said come back after school on the day i turned 17(2 days later from memory) and he had my p's already written out for me. he gave me a pile of about 30 p plates and told me if he caught me with out them on he would fine me enough to lose my licence.
then i got my open licence when my p's ran out.
got my b8 licence in the army a couple of years later and then transfered that to what is now called a hr licence.
then a couple of years later work wanted me to get a semi licence so i went to get a pemit and it took me 8 goes (lucky you didnt have to pay back then). then work paid for a one day course which i did and got my semi licence.

[Garth]

i didnt get my licence untill i was 23, i knew full well that if i got my licence at 17 as it was back then, i would have ended up a road stat. besides, where do you use a car on a war ship?

didnt have any problems, only passed my exam by one point, i didnt move my head enough when merging on the highway for the instructor. mum taught me, dad tryed but he is the most impaitent man i know. mum had the knack. what was funny was my sister is younger than me was in the car iwth me some days so i could drive around and get pracitce, she had her licence before me.

[Dayvo]

I got mine in 1975 . My instructor and the copper were best mates at school and hadn't seen each other for years . I got instructed to drive around Dandenong in the driving schools brand new Datsun 120Y while they talked about the good old days . After about half an hour they told me to head back to the police station where i breezed through the written test . I remember like Holden man when petrol was 12 cents a litre . Used to fill up the tank and buy a couple packs of smokes and still get change from $2 . A couple of years later i freaked out cos i just bought a 1972 Statesman and petrol sky rocketed to 27 cents a litre.

[Ace_VP]

Did my L's test at the RTA, got my L's drove around until I was 17, went for my P's, got my P's had them for 12 months and then got my full licence.

Matt

[coolngroovy]

I lived in a small town. Typically.. everybody knew everybody.
I had a history with the local coppers from my dirtbike days. They knew i could drive.

16 & 10 months found me sitting on the cop shop steps, waiting for the doors to open.
Done the short multiple answer test, paid the $5? & got my L's.

6 weeks later, i was chaufeur'n the big fat sarge around town. I must have done a reasonable job because he gave me my liscence.
There were no vehicle restrictions back then.

On the subject of vehicle restrictions.... the federal govt [circa 1976ish] decided to increase the cost of V8 registration in an attempt to deter younger drivers from buying V8s.
Quite clearly this didn't work!
Now that kids can't drive V8's legally, why is this 'tax' still in place?

[CSP]

Who cares? The costs of running cars in Australia is CHEAP!!! If you can't afford it, walk, ride a push bike, or use a bus/train.

[Tsunamix]

CSP - What are you doing on a car forum ? Shouldn't you be stalking a bicycle shop somehwere ? :P

Seriously cars aren't expensive to run - until you try and use them. Park them. Rego and insure them.

Getting my license ? err... 1986 i think. written 10 point test for learners, 30 point test for license, practical test - lost the maximum 15 points but got it first shot. Think I had some sort of p plates for a year.

[CSP]

CSP - What are you doing on a car forum ? Shouldn't you be stalking a bicycle shop somehwere ? :P

WTF???

Seriously cars aren't expensive to run - until you try and use them. Park them. Rego and insure them.

Wrong - even with all associated costs, cars in Australia are still CHEAP to run...

My L's - day I turned 16. Simple 30 question multiple choice test. Passed 100% and had my L's.
M P's - day I turned 17. 1 hour driving test. "Do the hill start, do the reverse parallel park, don't speed and come to a complete stop at every stop sign and you won't fail. We'll drive around for a bit and I'll make sure you make no mistakes". That's what the tester told me. One hour passed and so did I.

Getting my license ? err... 1986 i think. written 10 point test for learners, 30 point test for license, practical test - lost the maximum 15 points but got it first shot. Think I had some sort of p plates for a year.[/QUOTE]

[torana355]

I got my full license before the rules came in to keep people on P plates for more then one year. I got my L's when i was 17 and had a full unrestricted by the time i was 19yo.

[one_and_only2004]

Got L's - first go about 5 months after i could get them
Got red P's - assessor said I went over a stop line when I didn't, so I had to do that again
Got green P's - first go.
Open license - first go the day i could, mainly because the ute had been supercharged for a good month by then....

Apparently I have to get my LR license for work soon - should be fun...

[CSP]

WTF is a green P?

(other than vegetables)

Regarding the stop line, you have to stop and be able to see the line on the road over the bonnet - common sense for safety and actually part of the test (well, the test I did anyway).

[Stressball]

WTF is a green P?

(other than vegetables)

Surely someone with such an expansive knowledge of everything driving related should know that there are red and green p plates by now.

[CSP]

Surely someone with such an expansive knowledge of everything driving related should know that there are red and green p plates by now.

I imagine whoever that person is would know, but not being that person, I do not.

[stockyvrcalais]

Who cares? The costs of running cars in Australia is CHEAP!!! If you can't afford it, walk, ride a push bike, or use a bus/train.

you love to flame dont ya.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[CSP]

Flame? WTF? Nope. Just tell it like it izzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

[stockyvrcalais]

Flame? WTF? Nope. Just tell it like it izzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

sure you do CSPee

[Lance2560]

he just rolls through these forums, pushes buttons and receive's bacon

[Maci]

the day i turned 16 i went to the RTA and got my L's by doing a computer test, 50 hours of driving experience and 12 months later i sat the test with an instructor for a practical drive, and progressed to the Red P plate.
a further 12 months later i was entitled to sit a computer test (touch the screen when you would react etc) to pass the red P stage and move to Green P plates, 2 years after that i sat a very similar test just yesterday (the day i turned 20) and progressed to a full, unrestricted licence, spent the day FINALLY driving a v8 (without crapping bricks thinking about police getting me)

It only took 4 years and about $300 at the RTA to get it.......