2.2 L Plates, Licence Carriage and Learner Operating Conditions

L Plates, Licence Carriage and Learner Operating Conditions

A class RE learner must make the learner status visible and must carry evidence of the licence while riding. These administrative rules are often examined beside operating restrictions, so keep the plate rule, the licence-carriage rule and the separate mobile-phone rules distinct.

The motorcycle L plate

Queensland’s minimum L-plate design is 14.6 centimetres by 14.6 centimetres, with a black uppercase “L” on a yellow background. A learner driving a car displays plates front and rear, but a motorcycle learner displays the L at the rear only. It may be attached to the motorcycle or shown on the back of a vest worn by the rider.

The character must be clearly legible from 20 metres behind the motorcycle. Mount it where luggage, a passenger seat, mud, a folded bracket or the rider’s body will not obscure it. It must not block the number plate, tail light or indicators. Check it before moving off and again after luggage is fitted.

Queensland expressly permits a person to make an L plate if it has the correct size and colours; the government provides a template that can be printed on a colour printer. Therefore, “paper is never legal” and “only a plate bought from a shop is legal” are wrong. The issue is compliance and visibility, not the retailer.

The current demerit schedule gives the learner 2 demerit points for failing to display the motorcycle L plate clearly from the rear. The supervisor may also be fined for directing a learner without a correctly displayed plate. A person who is not learning should remove the L plate unless an authorised driver-trainer exception applies.

Carrying and presenting the licence

The official learner-rider page says the rider must carry the licence whenever riding and show it to a police officer when asked. Queensland’s Digital Licence app can provide official digital evidence where available. A screenshot, photograph of a card or an unofficial wallet image should not be treated as the Digital Licence. If relying on the app, make sure the device is charged and the app can display the credential.

Do not handle a phone while riding merely to prepare the licence. Stop in a safe, lawful place. The mobile-phone rules permit presentation of a digital driver licence to police when asked, and they also permit phone handling when safely parked. “Parked” means stopped with the intention of staying at that place; the published rule does not add an engine-off condition.

Core RE learner conditions

While riding, the learner must:

• ride a learner-approved motorcycle;
• be directed by a qualified supervisor;
• display the rear L plate or vest correctly;
• wear an approved, securely fastened helmet;
• carry the licence;
• maintain 0.00 BAC and not ride under the influence of drugs;
• not carry a pillion passenger;
• carry only the qualified supervisor if that person is seated in an attached sidecar; and
• not lane filter or ride on a road shoulder under the edge-filtering rule.

The learner must also obey every general road rule: speed limits, signals, signs, give-way rules, safe overtaking and proper control.

Mobile phones: classify the underlying licence

A frequent trap is the claim that every motorcycle learner is subject to a total phone ban. Queensland’s current learner-rider page says the motorcycle rule depends on the rider’s age and underlying car-licence type:

• a P1 holder under 25 must not use a mobile phone at all while riding, including hands-free use;
• a P2 holder, a P1 holder aged 25 or over, and an open-licence holder may use a phone hands-free within the general rules.

No rider may hold a phone or rest it on the body while riding, including while stopped at traffic lights or in traffic. Eligible hands-free use does not excuse failure to maintain proper control or due care. These details are developed in the mobile-phone section; the important learner-rule point is that “RE learner” alone does not determine the phone category.

Scenario method

When a question shows a learner, first inspect the rear display and supervision. Then identify LAMS status, passengers, BAC and filtering. Finally, if a phone appears, identify the underlying car licence and age. This ordered method prevents an otherwise correct learner-condition answer from being spoiled by an overbroad mobile-phone assumption.