As part of the ever increasing complexity of gaining a motorcycle licence in the UK, new riders must first complete Compulsory Basic Training. This comprises a one day course which covers basic road traffic issues, familiarisation of basic riding techniques in a yard followed by a few hours on the road under supervision. It's not a test, in that you either pass or fail, but in practice you won't get your certificate at the end of the day unless you have shown an acceptable level of competence so, in effect, it is actually a test. The cost varies but can be around £125 / $160. All makes perfect sense. Even car drivers with a full licence must go through this process and are treated no differently than a complete novice.
Having obtained your certificate you are then allowed to ride any bike up to 125cc and with a max power of approx 15hp. You must display L(earner) Plates on both front and rear of the motorcycle. Upcoming changes in the legislation will mean that anyone passing on a twist 'n Go will be restricted to those type of bikes.
The CBT certificate is valid for 2 years. If you haven't progressed to a full licence at the end of that period you must re-take your CBT which will allow you to continue to ride a 125 with L Plates for a further 2 years etc etc, which many do.
The system works fine but riding with L Plates is generally regarded as hazardous due to the way "learners" are treated by other road users. Why this should be I do not know but we've all experienced it.
I'd be happy to keep the (sensible) CBT training and 125 restriction but I would strongly advocate that after, say, 1 year, or a fixed number of miles, the learner could take a short test to allow for the removal of L Plates, whilst still retaining the 125cc restriction.
Unfortunately, our lawmakers are highly unlikely ever to have ridden small bikes with L Plates and have no concept of how dangerous this can be (ok, slight exaggeration) so I guess that changes are unlikely.
The worst part of all of this is that those of us who obey the law are restricted/penalised most heavily whilst there is a growing number of riders who don't even sit a CBT, insure or tax their bikes and who are highly unlikely to face the full force of the law should they ever be stopped by the Police. Modern life
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