There is an old wives’ tale in parts of Australia that it is illegal to use cruise control if you have an L plate.
- Learner drivers should learn all the functions of their vehicle
- It may not be advisable, but it is not illegal for an L-plate driver to use cruise control
- As long as the driver follows all other rules, it’s fine
There is no legal indication that this is the case. When it comes to the safety of the driver and all road users, it might even be considered a good thing for learners to use cruise control.
Cruise control was essentially designed to make driving longer distances less tiring. The advantage is that a motorist can get out at his destination without having violated any speed rules, and with a relaxed appearance because he would not have had to do any unnecessary work with his right foot.
However, there are big differences in cruise control systems in modern cars, and given the ongoing push for even more autonomous vehicles that can accelerate, brake, steer, park and – if you believe Elon Musk – completely drive themselves, you could argue that L-boards do not learn to drive a car, but rather to co-pilot a vehicle.
In case you don’t know, there are different types of cruise control. Here is an overview for laypeople.
The most common and simplest way allows you to set a speed at which you want to drive and the car maintains that speed (within reason).
A more advanced type of cruise control is adaptive or radar-based cruise control, which allows the driver to set the distance they want to maintain between their own car and the car in front. If the vehicle in front slows down or brakes hard, the car behind should essentially mimic the movements of the car in front.
Now there are differences between adaptive cruise control systems, including the fact that some have so-called “traffic jam” or “stop-and-go” technology, which essentially allows the car to come to a complete stop and then without a traffic jam to move off again. Driver intervention.
Other versions require the driver to press a button on the steering wheel or tap the accelerator to continue at the original set speed (although in traffic the car still judges what speed to go based on the speed of the vehicles in front).
And there’s another type of adaptive cruise control that – rather worryingly – switches off when the speed drops to a certain level. There’s nothing like driving on a multi-lane road, relying on the car to maintain speed and distance, only to decide that it doesn’t work at speeds below 30km/h, as it did for me happened once.
Other cruise control systems can even adjust their speed to the speed signs by pressing a button on the steering wheel. And there are even some that automatically adjust to the posted speed limit without intervention (this is usually called smart cruise control).
And there are newer cars with cruise control systems that link to map data and change the car’s speed depending on where you are on the map.
I too experienced such a mistake: when I was driving at the 80 km/h speed limit in a tunnel in Sydney, the luxury car I was in decided to think it was driving on the surface roads and stepped on them the same way Brake like the car “I thought” it was in a 25 mph school zone.
Additionally, some new vehicles may have immature “smart” cruise control systems that slow the car around curves or curves in the road, even if the posted recommended speed limit is higher than the speed you set.
And these seemingly high-tech systems can still make mistakes. I have driven in cars that displayed a speed limit of 110 km/h on the driver information screen, when the actual speed limit on the residential street I was driving was 50 km/h.
A plus point of modern cruise control systems is that many now offer a speed limiter that allows the driver to set a speed that they do not want to exceed. For both L-platers and P-platers, this could be a great technique to ensure they don’t break the law.
In fact, there are some scenarios where peak bodies suggest that drivers should not use cruise control. The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia recommends NOT using cruise control when the speed limit is 60 km/h or less, when cornering or when drowsy.
No, it is not illegal for a learner driver to use cruise control. But it’s up to that L-Platter and the person sitting next to it – be it a parent, a sibling, a relative or a driving instructor – to ensure it is used correctly, safely and intelligently.
Not intended as legal advice. Check with the relevant highway authority in your state or territory.
MORE: What are the speed limits for L-platers?
MORE: What are the speed limits for P-platers?