View Full Version : learner's permit
i2kdave
09-05-2008, 09:08 PM
So, I signed up to take the safety course and it was full until October 10th and I thought I was going to have to wait until then to start riding, but I found out yesterday that in North Carolina you can get a learner's permit by taking the written part of the test! I looked over the book last night and went this morning and passed! Gonna start riding tomorrow as soon as this tropical storm blows over. :2tup:
Moedad
09-05-2008, 09:20 PM
It's the same here in CA. Have fun and BE SAFE!
So, I signed up to take the safety course and it was full until October 10th and I thought I was going to have to wait until then to start riding, but I found out yesterday that in North Carolina you can get a learner's permit by taking the written part of the test! I looked over the book last night and went this morning and passed! Gonna start riding tomorrow as soon as this tropical storm blows over. :2tup:
Same in Pa too.
You cant do the MSF without a permit. You woulda been screwed!
alanmcorcoran
09-06-2008, 05:51 AM
Check the rules on the permit. In CA no riding at night, no riding on highways and no passengers. I kind of figured the passenger thing, but I didn't realize the other limitations until I went on-line to confirm my suspicions on the passenger thing.
Later on I noticed it said it right on my permit. Yeah, I'm not too bright.
Never got stopped when I was accidently illegally riding at night, but boy did I see a lot of cops. They had just passed a new cell phone law out here, the state is teetering on bankruptcy and the LEO's were out in force.
i2kdave
09-06-2008, 10:26 AM
You cant do the MSF without a permit. You woulda been screwed!
They don't require a permit to take the class here.
Check the rules on the permit. In CA no riding at night, no riding on highways and no passengers. I kind of figured the passenger thing, but I didn't realize the other limitations until I went on-line to confirm my suspicions on the passenger thing.
The only restriction mine has is the no passenger thing.
The guy at the DMV made sure to tell me not to go driving into SC, because they won't honor our permit. I guess either they don't have learner's permits, or they just don't like ours. :roll:
IA has the permit but you have to be within 1000' of a licensed rider at all times.
The guy at the DMV made sure to tell me not to go driving into SC, because they won't honor our permit. I guess either they don't have learner's permits, or they just don't like ours. :roll:
They probably can't read it :neener:
k13fer
09-07-2008, 11:21 PM
I'm on my permit too i just got my bike... friday? yeah friday and i'm waiting on a notary and license plate then I'm on the streets. in ohio we just take a safety course and they waive our maneuverability test for 60days. do they do that other places too?
patrick_777
09-08-2008, 01:19 AM
In Oklahoma, if you take the MSF class, they waive the driving skills test altogether. You just take a written exam.
alanmcorcoran
09-08-2008, 06:21 AM
California has a written to get the permit. The written is not super difficult. Some of the answers are common sense and some you can guess at (and there's not that many questions.) I took it after skimming the handbook in line and got just enough right to pass on the first try. They give you three tries. The sense I got is no one has ever left the DMV building without a permit. The permit allows you to do practically anything a license does, except as noted above: no night time, no freeway, no passengers.
To get the full license you either have to pass the DMV ride test or the MSF course test. You have a year from the time you get the permit to get this done. If you take the MSF course, they also have a written test. There's a lot more questions on it (50), but it's even easier than the DMV written. They give you a version of the DMV ride test at the end of the third day. Only two people in my MSF class of 12 did not pass, one of which fell off the bike and could not continue. Even if you fail the MSF, they will let you come back and retake the test. As noted in a related thread, there was only one tricky part of the rider test involving tight U turns. If you pass the test, they mail you a piece of paper (DLR 389, I think) and then all you need to do is bring it to the DMV and you are licensed.
When I asked around myself about the licensing details, I found out a lot of motorcycle enthusiasts started on dirt bikes as kids and many either rode unlicensed for years (or are still riding unlicensed.)
Magnar Infectus
09-08-2008, 11:34 AM
In Florida (as of 7-1-08) you can get a permit with only the written test (you don't really need one though), but the only way to get a license is to take the MSF class. Once you complete the class they submit the info to the DMV. All you have to do is go there, and hand them a card that the MSF class gave you along with $15 for a new picture and to have the new license printed.
patrick_777
09-09-2008, 01:47 AM
a lot of motorcycle enthusiasts started on dirt bikes as kids and many either rode unlicensed for years (or are still riding unlicensed.)
:whistle:
alanmcorcoran
09-09-2008, 02:53 AM
Busted!
(best use of the whistlin' eye roll I've seen in a while...)
Some of us attract the authorities like flies on, well..., I guess that would make me the stinky part, but you know what I mean. I have to pay my taxes, mow my lawn regular-like and be civil to the nice officers, two of whom paid me a visit just last night. So riding without the proper credentials is not an option for me. A rebel in my own mind.
Jenny
09-17-2008, 05:04 PM
The MSF class in my area (way way way upstate NY) allowed you to take the class without a permit, but you could only use the class to waive your road test if you showed up with a learner's permit. I brought my learner's permit to the class, passed the riding test three days later, and then waited a couple weeks for the paperwork to get to my house so that I could go back to the DMV and get my license.
The learner's permit is a joke here. All you need to get a motorcycle learner's permit is take a very dumb written test. Most of the questions were about why it's bad to drink and drive and only one of the twenty questions was specific to motorcycles!
Once you have a learner's permit, you can go on the roads in NY. There is one restriction that I know of - you have to be supervised by a licensed rider who needs to be within 1/4 mile of you. The supervision can be done while the person is stationary (standing on the sidewalk watching you ride up and down the block or around a parking lot over and over and over), while the person is riding near you on their motorcycle, or while the person follows you in a car. The supervision part is key - they don't need to just be within 1/4 mile of you but somehow actively participating in the experience (so you can't ride up and down the block with your partner inside the house washing dishes near the window).
The guy at the DMV made sure to tell me not to go driving into SC, because they won't honor our permit. I guess either they don't have learner's permits, or they just don't like ours. :roll:
REALLY? That's odd. Because here in SC, they issue permits after a written test. You can even drive a car on a motorcycle permit, except at nights. The only restrictions on riding motorcycles is that you cant ride after 6pm/8pm DST, unless "supervised by parent/guardian over 21". Also, any permit holder is required to hold a permit for 120 days before they can apply for their license.
That's technically unconstitutional... i remember hearing about it last year in a Intro to US Government. A quick search on google: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_License_Agreement
Legally, states MUST honor all licenses issued within the states and territories... it seems logical that it would apply to permits as well.
Oh South Cacky Lacky, get with the times.
Easy Rider
09-17-2008, 11:00 PM
Legally, states MUST honor all licenses issued within the states and territories... it seems logical that it would apply to permits as well.
There is no requirement for logic when dealing with the law. Or to put it another way, if you try to apply logic to the law, you will often be wrong.......as in this case. :biggrin:
Oh, and I'm pretty sure that the statute you are referring to is NOT a part of the constitution !! :roll:
Legally, states MUST honor all licenses issued within the states and territories... it seems logical that it would apply to permits as well.
There is no requirement for logic when dealing with the law. Or to put it another way, if you try to apply logic to the law, you will often be wrong.......as in this case. :biggrin:
Oh, and I'm pretty sure that the statute you are referring to is NOT a part of the constitution !! :roll:
Welcome to America. Ugh.
But there is a clause stating that citizens of one state must be priveledged accordingly in other states.
Pardon me while I kiss Uncle Sam's ring.
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