i still have my N and i've had it for over 4 years. i was 12 days away from getting my class 5 when it got taken away for 2 months. then when i got it back they said my N started over. mother f*cker. so now i'm 8 days away from my class 5 test again. finally. and what have i learned in my long years of being in the graduated licensing program that i couldn't have learned without it? absolutely f*cking nothing. the only thing i've been taught is that if you have an N on your car, you better watch your ass cuz they're looking for you.
perfect example: me and my buddy (who has his class 5) got into a debate as to whether or not N drivers are targeted. we both have almost identical driving styles and habits. so we agreed to swap, he'd put an N on his car and i'd take mine off (GASP i know! took my N off?!?!?!!? omfg!) and we'd drive from coquitlam center to 2nd beach at Davie and Denman. and we weren't allowed to alter our driving styles, just drive normally. needless to say, he ended up getting a ticket for speeding (13kms/hr over the limit) and having a balding FRONT tire. how'd the cop know he had a balding tire? he went over the entire car looking for something to snag him on of course. so i won, and he bought me a beer.
second example: me and my fiance both drove our cars separately and met up at the lookout at SFU @ 10pm on a weekday. i parked my car in the lot and jumped in hers. we drove to mcd's and back. as we pull back into the parking lot where my car is there's a cop sitting at the back of the lot on the other side from where my car is. she pulls up to my car, i hop out, jump in my car (1gb, N/A, FWD nothing fancy) and drive away. as soon as i pull outta the lot i see the cop pull away from where he was parked. so i continue driving down the small narrow road towards the main road at EXACTLY the speed limit. not 1km/hr over. EXACTLY the limit. i get to the stop sign, come to a COMPLETE stop, look both ways, signal, look both ways again, and pull out onto the main road that heads towards hastings. i even shoulder checked as i made a right-hand turn just to be 110% i wasn't doing anything wrong. as i'm going down the hill the cop is right behind me the whole time. again, i'm going EXACTLY the limit. to the point where i was watching my speedo more than the road. i get down to the lights at the Chevron at the bottom of the hill. i signal, shoulder check, then merge into the turning lane and come to a complete stop before the white line. when the light turns green, i look both ways to check for cross-traffic, accelerate through the intersection and into the middle lane (cuz your supposed to turn into the lane you left from which is what i did) and continued driving. at this point he's still right behind me and i'm thinking "there's no WAY i'm gonna get pulled over. i've done EVERYTHING i can possibly..." lights up his cherries and pulls me over. god dammit. turns out i didn't have my N on the back. $110 ticket. but here's the kicker: how'd he know i needed an N on my car? there's no visual clue on cars that need Ns. he must have ran my plates. but why'd he run my plates? hmm, good question
i guess that 2nd story doesn't really mean they target N drivers, but if it weren't for the GLP then they'd have less excuses to do random plate checks on "sports" cars.
/rant
