You're heading down the freeway, cruising at a nice 100kph when something about the car in the next lane
attracts your attention. Despite the fact that you know to keep your eyes on the road you find yourself glancing over at the
occupant of the next vehicle. Trying to maintain focus on the road ahead, you still peek over at the not unattractive young
female driver, trying to determine what drew your eye and then it hits you. It wasn't her that you noticed at all....
The 'P' plate effect.
It has been the talk of scientific community for years.
The unconscious attraction of attention towards a small square of red plastic that many drivers experience everyday.
For the first time ever, it is explained...
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In
Victoria,
Australia the process of obtaining your drivers licence is quite simple.
-
At age 16 you can apply for a learner's licence.
-
from 16 to 18 you can drive with a fully licenced front-passenger
- At 18 you can apply for a Probationary licence
- For three years from that point you can driver unassisted but cannot have any
alcohol in your blood
- After those three years you lose the 0% alcohol limit ( and its replaced with .05% )
For the three years from 18 - 21, you must display a red, square piece of plastic with a yellow |P| on it. This is known as a P plate. This plate must be visible in both the front and back windows of your car. This earns the driver the title of P-plater.
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So now we know what the 'P'-plate is, but how does it manage to distract so many
motorists that it is meant to be subtly alerting to the possibility of
teenagers?
This has been attributed to two truths.
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Firstly, the 'P' plate itself is normally very bright red plastic with an almost
luminescent white |P| in the center. The coloring itself would attract many an eye, but coupled with the fact that the driver is more than likely to be
exceeding the speed limit by 10-20% and it becomes a streak of red that would attract a half-blind mule wearing sunglasses.
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The second factor is the implied relationship between existence of the plate and the expected age of the driver. Ever though people who obtained their licenses later in life still need to go through the probationary period like everyone else, the vast majority of 'P' platers are youths between the ages of 18 & 21-22. Of those, approximately 50% are female.
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Could these either of these factors alone help the
average driver in their life?
Probably not..
In today's society however, where so much emphasis is put on finding a suitable mate, it is almost impossible to ignore any avenue that could lead to meeting up with "The One". It could be that the standard
social scene with it's poor odds is not sufficient in keeping the human race paired up. In this case then these combined factors, this 'P' plate effect with it's bright red sign yelling "Look at me! I'm young (but not too young)! I'm fast! And you never know…. I just might be female!" could be the answer.