I think so. Because i live in colombo and with L on my bike, I've travelled to Galle. An officer stopped me (i think in kosgama area) and ask for the license and stuff. I showed him the permit and all went fine
But this is in 2010 though
I checked this with a lawyer a few weeks back. According to her, the motor traffic act states that you can drive only a motorbike alone, with L plates (even sizes are given, but this is not usually enforced unless the plates are extremely small. Nowadays you are given L plates from RMV after the written test.) ONLY WITHIN THE DISTRICT PROVINCE (A district province is an administrative district, which is the same as the normal districts we know-since the enactment of the 13th amendment in 1987).
If you are caught driving with a learners permit outside of the district province which you obtained your permit, you can be charged for not pocessing a valid driver's license. So techinically, it doesnt make a difference if you have a license or not in this case!
However, traffic police are generally lenient in this regard and will normally let you off if you travel to a nearby district (like not Jaffna, if you got the permit from Colombo) with a L permit. But don't count on it.
One more tip for L permit holders: never tell traffic police that you were "driving" or came shopping or whatever you went out for. Always say you were "training to drive".
One final tip for L permit holders with scooters: if you think travelling with an L plate is no fun, there is a workaround. Remove your L plates and put them in your luggage, if you get stopped by the police, tell them that you are taking it to be serviced or washed and will put it back immediately afterwards. Works 90% of the time.
PS Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, and I do not take responsibility for damages of financial, physical physicolgical or any other means regarding content in this forum post.
