Courtney Allan
Legal

Share your car with an L-plater? You could be slapped with a $161 fine

Drivers have been warned that they can be fined whilst making a simple mistake while driving and teaching a learner driver, or sharing a car with a P-plate driver.

A Facebook post by Victoria Police asked social media users to vote on whether or not they thought that fully licensed drivers could be fined for displaying L or P plates.

If you share a car with a learner or P-plate driver, you know how easy it is to forget to take off the plates before driving.

With more than 18,000 votes, the poll overwhelmingly thought that yes, you can be fined.

However, it wasn’t until the Victoria Police confirmed if they were right.

“Under the Road Safety Drivers Regulations, you will receive a $161 fine for displaying L or P-plates when not required,” Victoria Police wrote.

Not only will accidentally leaving P-plates on land you a fine, you will also be hit with three demerit points.

Many were quick to voice their annoyance.

“Geez a simple and easy thing to forget to take off. Victoria police you look for anything these days to fine people,” one commenter said.

“Stupid rule. Who does it hurt? It only warns other drivers to be weary of you,” another wrote.

Another argued that drivers should be warned and not fined.

“When you’re teaching your teenagers to drive, it can be easy to forget about the one on the rear of the car. Should be a warning not a fine,” they wrote.

One person pointed out that the law was more than 20 years old and that road users should be aware of it.

“This law has been around for more than 20 years, don’t get your knickers in a knot because now they are advertising that they will enforce it,” one commenter said.

Tags:
learner, learner drivers, provisional drivers, l plates, p plates, victorian police