In 1971 the ‘L-Plate’ requrement for Learner drivers can apparently as a result of a court case Nettleship v Weston according to wikipedia.
Many names followed L-Plate, Newly Licensed Driver Plate, Learner’s License and “L-sign.”
This was 53 Years Ago.
In 1971 Mr. Nettleship agreed to teach Mrs. Weston to drive in her husbands car. They crashed and Mr. Nettleship got hurt and went to the courts to seek compensation. Mrs. Weston argued that she lacked the skills of an experience driver therefore she should not be expected to perform like an experienced driver. The courts concluded that “The standard of care for a learner driver would be the usual standard applied to drivers: that of an experienced and skilled driver. As a result the L-PLATE became mandatory for new drivers. Read all about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nettleship_v_Weston
Since then “L-sign” has morphed into many different looks.
And today you can get them free from any ICBC location here in British Columbia Canada along with “L-sign” sister “N.”
You can also print a copy of “L-sign” on your home computer is you are in a pinch…. It comes out sideways, I dont know why. https://assets.ctfassets.net/nnc41duedoho/1JWg02vECzOnch3Zwy5z6l/16d6c804cd3704892f0f3c9ae4832c11/l-signcolor.pdf
But “L-sign” will age and need to be replaced in a year or two.
And sometime you will see L and N’s distance cousin “Z.” But we can talk about that another time…
Do you have photos of creative L signs? Send me please and I will add to this collection. 🙂
Come join my continued search as I continually try to understand Driver Education.
How old is this industry?
When did it start?
Why did it start?
How has it evolved?
Or has it not evolved?
How effective is the typical training?
What does the research say?
Come join me on a life long journey asking these deep questions about cars, driving, education and their relationship to crashing!
Comments are closed