During their first year of driving, drivers in victoria are required to display "p" plates on the front and rear of their vehicles. They are not permitted to exceed 80 km/h on any road and are subjected to more severe penalties if convicted for most traffic offences. For most "moving violations", the penalty is cancellation of licence. This survey was carried out to investigate the speeds of vehicles displaying p- plates. This was done as there has been considerable discussion concerning speed limits for various classes of vehicles and roads. The extent to which any speed limit is obeyed is of major importance in determining any effectiveness the limit may have. The speeds of 1341 vehicles displaying p- plates were collected at four 100 km/h sites, and one 60 km/h site around Melbourne. These speeds were compared with the speeds of 2743 vehicles not displaying p- plates which were collected at the same time. The p- platers' speeds at the 100 km/h sites were approximately 10-15 km/h slower across the entire distribution. Significant differences were detected in mean and 85th percentile speeds. However, significantly more p- platers were exceeding the applicable limit.
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