We stood and watched the 4WDs navigate the road. It was wide, but deeply rutted and anything but smooth. Not easy navigation for anyone. They took it carefully and before long they were out of sight.
‘Argh! P-platers!’
If you live in Queensland or NSW you may have heard these words or even uttered them. P-platers or those on a provisional licence are those drivers who are no longer a Learner driver permit, but have generally only held their licence for a short time. In some cases they have only had a licence for one year. As that is how long you must hold your L-plates (and completed 100 hours of driving if you are under 25), so they might be fresh out of the blocks so to speak. They must display P-plates and have restrictions on their licence including such things as how many people they can carry at certain times of the day, speed restrictions and a zero alcohol level.
They are by all accounts according to the law, not very experienced but they are no longer learning to drive. In other words they need to earn their stripes and really only time and experience behind the wheel can give that to them.
Whether warranted or not, they have a reputation for being impatient, pushing the limits of road rules and for being not very good drivers. It fascinates me that these judgements are placed on individuals so quickly. A glance at the car showing the plates is all that it takes. How quickly people forget! They all once drove on their P-plates.
Those displaying an L plate seem to be given grace. After all, these are the learners. They are almost expected to make mistakes and people tend to give them more space, taking into account their inexperience. On the other hand, P-platers are expected to drive like they have had 20 or 30 years’ experience under their belt right off the bat.
Two generalisations are made. Firstly, all P-platers are poor drivers and secondly if you are a driving on your open licence then you are a good and safe driver. Neither of these are true. It’s like anything in life. As a beginner you might naturally have an aptitude to something, say driving and so you are good at it, yes you might not be experienced but you can do it well without too many mistakes and you are cautious. Conversely, as someone who has held a licence for a long time you might be very impatient and find as many ways as possible to get from A to B without thinking about or considering other drivers.
As I said, L-Platers are given grace. P-platers are given grief. What if P-platers were given patience? What if we were more patient on the roads with them, just like we are with Learners? What if the L stood for love and the P for patience? Not only as those displaying those plates giving these things, but also receiving them.
We don’t go through life knowing how to do everything. We wouldn’t need to go to school, TAFE, university or begin training or learning for a new job or even a hobby. That is a ridiculous notion. It’s funny, I’d say we give others patience when they are learning something new, but we don’t give ourselves that same patience. As soon as they can take their training wheels off, the time which seems to be getting shorter and shorter we lose that patience both with ourselves and with others.
I’ve had to remind myself of that a lot lately, especially the patience part. Not so much on the roads but in life in general. Everyone’s experience, learning experience and love for something is different and as a result they will be doing the best they can with the knowledge and understanding that they have. That doesn’t make it wrong or make them less worthy. It just means that I need to be patient. I’ve got to remember that in all my learning, jobs and things that I do in a day or a week, I was once a learner and I was given grace but more importantly, I too held (and still do in different areas) hold my P-plates. I expect and hope that others give me patience as I navigate the best way to do things. And in turn I need to do the same – love and patience.
Musings By Macca 