8.2 Learner, Tractor and Posted Limits
Key Takeaways
- A vehicle under the control of a provisional-licence holder is capped at 25 mph; the Theoretical Programme prints that same learner ceiling as 40 km/h.
- Motor tractors are 15 mph in the Second Schedule and 24 km/h in the programme's NEW SPEED LIMITS heading.
- A motor vehicle other than a tractor drawing a trailer must not exceed the class maximum minus 5 mph.
- Restricted roads include Georgetown, New Amsterdam, named East Bank and East Coast stretches, the Timehri airport area, Bartica, listed coast roads, municipal towns, and Gazette-declared roads.
- Posted signs prevail: GPF posted the Soesdyke–Linden Highway at 80 km/h in February 2020, which is lower than the Act's 60 mph light-car highway row.
8.2 Learner, Tractor and Posted Limits
Section 8.1 taught the Act's 30 / 40 / 60 mph place-rows. This section teaches the lower special caps and the signs that beat a bare Schedule number. It is independent study of the Second Schedule provisos, paragraph 4's restricted-road list, the Theoretical Programme heading NEW SPEED LIMITS, and Road Traffic Code rule 27 on named bridges.
Quick Answer: A vehicle under the control of a provisional-licence holder is capped at 25 mph. The programme prints that same learner ceiling as 40 km/h. Motor tractors are 15 mph in the Act and 24 km/h in the programme. A motor vehicle (other than a tractor) drawing a trailer must not exceed the class maximum minus 5 mph. Posted signs prevail. GPF posted the Soesdyke–Linden Highway at 80 km/h in February 2020; that is slower than the Act's 60 mph light-car highway row. Drive carefully within the prescribed limit on the Demerara Harbour Bridge and Canje Bridge.
Two unit systems, one learner cap
The Act still legislates in miles per hour. The April 2025 Learner/Driver Theoretical Programme prints a heading NEW SPEED LIMITS with:
- Learner Driver's speed limit 40 km/h
- Motor Tractor 24 km/h
Those metric figures are the same caps as the Act, converted:
| Who / what | Act (mph) | Programme (km/h) | Why they match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provisional / learner driver | 25 mph | 40 km/h | 25 mph is about 40 km/h |
| Motor tractor | 15 mph | 24 km/h | 15 mph is about 24 km/h |
Do not treat 40 km/h as the Act's 40 mph open-road figure. That is the most common unit mix-up on this paper. 40 km/h ≈ 25 mph (learner). 40 mph ≈ 64 km/h (open road for a full-licence light vehicle). A learner who "does 40" thinking that means the open-road Act number is almost doubling the provisional cap.
The 25 mph figure is a ceiling, not a permission to exceed a lower class limit. A tractor remains 15 mph / 24 km/h even if a learner is at the controls. On a restricted Georgetown street the light-car Act row is 30 mph, but a provisional holder is still capped at 25 mph / 40 km/h, which is the lower number. On the Linden Highway a full-licence light car might face a posted 80 km/h; a learner is still at 40 km/h.
Proviso (a) applies to a vehicle under the control of a holder of a provisional licence, being a vehicle of a class mentioned in the foregoing Schedule items. L-plate practice on a public road is inside that cap, whether you are in Georgetown, on the East Bank, on the East Coast, at Bartica, or on a highway.
Tractor 15 mph / 24 km/h
Item 3 of the Second Schedule is a single number: motor tractors 15. No restricted-road 30, no open-road 40, no Timehri Field 60. The programme restates it as 24 km/h. Age limits and estate internal operations are licensing topics in earlier chapters. The speed fact for this sitting is the 15 mph / 24 km/h cap on a road.
Trailer minus five
Proviso (b): a motor vehicle, other than a motor tractor, drawing a trailer or other vehicle shall not be driven faster than the maximum for its particular class less 5 miles per hour.
Worked examples for a light car (item 1), before any posted sign that is lower:
- Restricted road: 30 − 5 = 25 mph
- Elsewhere: 40 − 5 = 35 mph
- Timehri Field/Linden Highway: 60 − 5 = 55 mph, then still take any lower posted road maximum
Always take the lowest applicable cap: class place-row, trailer minus 5, provisional 25 mph, tractor 15 mph, posted sign. A tractor is excluded from this minus-5 formula; remember the tractor's own 15 mph / 24 km/h.
Restricted roads — the Act's named list
Paragraph 4 of the Second Schedule defines restricted roads. Teach this list. Do not invent extra towns.
(a) Roads in the city of Georgetown.
(b) The main public road on the East Bank, Demerara, in and between Plantations Ruimveldt and Grove, and between Plantation Coverden to the intersection of that road with the Madewinni Creek.
(c) Roads in the Timehri International Airport area.
(d) The main public road on the East Coast, Demerara, from the city of Georgetown to the eastern boundary of Plantation Hope.
(e) Roads in the town of New Amsterdam.
(f) Roads in any town constituted under the Municipal and District Councils Act.
(g) Roads in the Bartica Village District.
(h) The main public road on the Aroabisci Coast, Essequibo, from its junction with the branch road at Adventure leading to the Transport and Harbours Department stelling, to the common boundary between Plantation Zorg and Plantation Golden Fleece.
(i) That portion of the main public road on the West Coast of Berbice within the Rosignol/Zee Lust Local Government District.
(j) That portion of the main public road on the West Coast, Demerara within the Klien Pouderoyen/Best Local Government District and the Parika/Salem Village District.
(k) That portion of the main public road on the Corentyne Coast, Berbice, within the Sheet Anchor/Cumberland Local Government District.
(l) Any road the Licensing Authority declares to be a restricted road by notice in the Gazette and in a newspaper circulating in Guyana.
On those roads the light-class Act ceiling is 30 mph (about 48 km/h) for a full licence, and 25 mph / 40 km/h for a provisional holder. New Amsterdam and Georgetown are named urban restricted sets. East Bank and East Coast are named stretches, not "the entire bank or coast forever." Timehri airport area is restricted; do not promote it to the 60 mph highway row.
Posted signs prevail
The Road Traffic Code's illustrated set includes a speed limit plate. Notices may be used with a sign to show limitations the Commissioner of Police deems appropriate. Where a posted maximum is in force, you obey the sign. You also still obey any lower class, learner, tractor, or trailer cap.
Lowest applicable number wins. A highway sign does not authorise a learner to run at 80 km/h. A 60 mph Schedule row does not authorise you to ignore an 80 km/h sign.
Soesdyke–Linden Highway: Act 60 mph versus posted 80 km/h
For light cars, hire cars, motorcycles and other vehicles not over 25 cwt, the Second Schedule prints 60 mph on the Timehri Field/Linden Highway. In February 2020 the Guyana Police Force reduced the posted highway maximum to 80 km/h (from a then-used 100 km/h figure) because of roadway condition and safety.
60 mph ≈ 97 km/h. 80 km/h ≈ 50 mph. The posted 80 km/h is slower than the Act's 60 mph row. Posted wins. Do not sit the paper arguing that you may do 60 mph because the Schedule number is higher. Do not treat 80 km/h or 100 km/h as the general limit on every Guyana road — Georgetown and New Amsterdam restricted streets are still 30 mph for a full-licence light vehicle, and 40 km/h for a learner.
Construction zones can post still lower temporary maxima. Follow those signs too. Unofficial talk of "80/100 km/h everywhere" is not a Second Schedule row.
Named bridges
Code rule 27: drive carefully and within the speed limit prescribed when crossing the Demerara Harbour Bridge and Canje Bridge. Look for the prescribed or posted figure on the approach. Do not assume the open-road 40 mph or the highway 60 mph row applies just because you left a town street. Bridges are also overtaking-sensitive (Chapter 5). Left-hand traffic continues on the deck. Pulling to the left and STOP for Fire, Ambulance, or Police sirens still applies on and off the bridge.
Practical hierarchy for the electronic paper
- What posted sign is in force, including bridges and the Soesdyke–Linden Highway 80 km/h posting?
- Is the driver a provisional holder? Cap 25 mph / 40 km/h.
- Is it a motor tractor? Cap 15 mph / 24 km/h.
- Is there a trailer (non-tractor)? Class maximum minus 5 mph.
- Otherwise apply the Second Schedule place-row: restricted 30, Timehri Field/Linden Highway light class 60, elsewhere 40 — then convert only if the question uses km/h.
Independent study of these learner, tractor, and posted topics uses both the Act mph table and the programme's metric NEW SPEED LIMITS heading. It does not invite you to pick the higher of two conflicting figures.
A provisional-licence holder is practising with L plates on a public road. What speed cap should you use for that driver?
What maximum speed does the Act print for a motor tractor, and how does the Theoretical Programme state the same cap?
The Second Schedule prints 60 mph for light cars on the Timehri Field/Linden Highway, but GPF posted 80 km/h on the Soesdyke–Linden Highway in February 2020. What should a candidate treat as the live highway maximum where those signs are in force?