08-20-2014, 10:07 AM
An Australian Perspective
Like the US, requirements vary from State to State in Australia and grow more complex and obtuse each year.
In Queensland, where I now live, you have to have held a provisional or open car license for at least 12 months sometime in the past 5 years before you can even apply for a learner's license to ride a motorcycle. I think I'm right in saying that, while you have a learner's license, you have to be accompanied somehow when you drive on the road. This is not the case in other states.*
You can escape the Learner's by undertaking an approved course of training which covers practice and theory. If you pass, you get a provisional license which allows you to ride bikes with a limited power to weight ratio. I can't remember what it is; if anyone looks like dying of curiosity, I'll try to find out, but it certainly allows you to ride some bikes up to 650cc capacity.
You then have to hold your provisional license for 12 months before you are eligible to do the training and be certified to ride any bike.
When I got a motorcycle license more than 40 years ago, I went to the Transport people, paid $1 and was given a learner's permit. That meant I could ride anything anywhere as long as I didn't carry a pillion passenger. When I turned 17 I took a brief practical test—the bloke watched me ride a few feet and back—and got a provisional license. Again I could ride anything anywhere but could not carry a pillion. After a year it was game on and unrestricted.
Seems to me there is benefit in the modern arrangements as there is some assurance that people have done some more substantial practical training than I had to do before being exposed to the delights of cagers with phones. That said, I'm not completely persuaded that requirements aren't getting Alitalia excessive as regulators strive to eradicate any possibility of harm from our lives—see [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3758]this thread.
*Ponder this absurdity if you will. Queensland shares a border with New South Wales where you can ride a bike on a learner's license without being accompanied. Because of the way Queensland's road rules are structured, you are required to comply with the conditions of your license if you ride in Qld. So a person from NSW riding on a learner's does not have to be accompanied, whereas a Qld learner does. This neat distinction hasn't percolated through the ranks of the constabulary who are forever apprehending NSW riders and booking them even though they are not breaking the law. Presumably the charge doesn't stick.
Oh, the joys of living in a federation born of a secession of power from the states.
Like the US, requirements vary from State to State in Australia and grow more complex and obtuse each year.
In Queensland, where I now live, you have to have held a provisional or open car license for at least 12 months sometime in the past 5 years before you can even apply for a learner's license to ride a motorcycle. I think I'm right in saying that, while you have a learner's license, you have to be accompanied somehow when you drive on the road. This is not the case in other states.*
You can escape the Learner's by undertaking an approved course of training which covers practice and theory. If you pass, you get a provisional license which allows you to ride bikes with a limited power to weight ratio. I can't remember what it is; if anyone looks like dying of curiosity, I'll try to find out, but it certainly allows you to ride some bikes up to 650cc capacity.
You then have to hold your provisional license for 12 months before you are eligible to do the training and be certified to ride any bike.
When I got a motorcycle license more than 40 years ago, I went to the Transport people, paid $1 and was given a learner's permit. That meant I could ride anything anywhere as long as I didn't carry a pillion passenger. When I turned 17 I took a brief practical test—the bloke watched me ride a few feet and back—and got a provisional license. Again I could ride anything anywhere but could not carry a pillion. After a year it was game on and unrestricted.
Seems to me there is benefit in the modern arrangements as there is some assurance that people have done some more substantial practical training than I had to do before being exposed to the delights of cagers with phones. That said, I'm not completely persuaded that requirements aren't getting Alitalia excessive as regulators strive to eradicate any possibility of harm from our lives—see [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=3758]this thread.
*Ponder this absurdity if you will. Queensland shares a border with New South Wales where you can ride a bike on a learner's license without being accompanied. Because of the way Queensland's road rules are structured, you are required to comply with the conditions of your license if you ride in Qld. So a person from NSW riding on a learner's does not have to be accompanied, whereas a Qld learner does. This neat distinction hasn't percolated through the ranks of the constabulary who are forever apprehending NSW riders and booking them even though they are not breaking the law. Presumably the charge doesn't stick.
Oh, the joys of living in a federation born of a secession of power from the states.