Irish Driving Tips

Sengoku79

These may come in useful...

1. Indicators will give away your next move. A confident Irish
driver avoids using them.

2. Under no circumstance should you maintain a safe distance
between you and the car in front of you, because somebody else
will fill in the space, putting you in an even more dangerous
situation.

3. The faster you drive through a red light, the less chance
you have of getting hit.

4. Never get in the way of an older car that needs extensive
bodywork, especially with WW, MO or MH plates. With no
insurance, the other operator probably has nothing to lose.

5. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to
ensure that your ABS kicks in, giving a vigorous, foot massage
as the brake pedal violently pulsates. For those of you
without ABS, it's a chance to strengthen your leg muscles.

6. Never pass on the right when you can pass on the left. It's
a good way to prepare other drivers entering the motorway.

7. Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as a
suggestion and are not enforceable in Ireland during rush
hour.

8. Always brake and rubberneck when you see an accident or
even someone changing a tyre. This is seen as a sign of
respect for the victim.

9. Learn to swerve abruptly without signalling. Ireland is the
home of high-speed slalom driving thanks to the Department of
Public Works, which puts potholes in key locations to test
drivers' reflexes and keep them alert!

10. It is tradition in Ireland to honk your horn at cars in
front of you that do not move three milliseconds after the
light turns green.

11. To avoid injury in the event of a collision or rollover,
it is important to exit your vehicle through the windscreen
right away. Wearing your seat belt will only impede your
hi-velocity escape from danger.

12. Remember that the goal of every Irish driver is to get
ahead of the pack by whatever means necessary.

13. WARNING! Never come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No
one expects it and it will result in you being rear-ended

fillmore jive

a lot of drivers take this seriously. that's why the roads are so dangerous.

ircoha

Indicators will give away your next move. A confident Irish
driver avoids using them

total BS: it only shows the bulb is working, partime.

Kojak

fillmore jive wrote:

a lot of drivers take this seriously. that's why the roads are so dangerous.

There's probably a lot of truth in that, unfortunatly.

imprezza

5 stars for that one

iFight

Some good ones in there. :D

whassupp2

I failed my test today. (seriously i did).
I only saw this thread now but I think I should follw this advice next time maybe.

Capt'n Midnight

14. Use full beams and fog lights if you have them at all times, this will slow down oncoming drivers.

15. Hazard warning lights should be used to mask indicatiors whenever practicable. For TAXI's this is mandatory. They can also be used to double park for up to half an hour.

16. If you do decide to use indicators, wait until you turn the wheel and indicate as your hand passes it. Indicators are self cancelling so you never need to turn them off. Besides you may need to turn left at the next junction. SUV's are exempt from indicating when the driver uses a mobile phone.

17. If you want to turn right, move to the outside lane in good time. As an example if you want to turn right at Newlands garden centre, you should be in the right hand lane before Airton Road. Also you should slow down before you turn right. At least 10Kph less than the traffic in the inside lane seems to be standard.

18. L plates, like full driving licenses are optional. Unlike most other countries where you the plates have to conspicously placed at the extremeties of the vehicle you are allowed to be more descrete with them. Bonus points if you remove the white background to make them blend in.

19. Should you wish to become a Driving Instructors you can save a lot of time because they don't actually need driving licenses.

20. Don't get too worked up about rules and regulations. Remember the chances of winning the lottery are far higher than loosing your license through penalty points.

21. If you have a provisional license and are worried about having to do a test before renewing it, remember you only need to apply for a test. Then reschedule it as many times as you like.

22. When joining a motorway, never come to a complete stop on the slip road as otherwise you will never get on, simply barge in.

23. Under the open-skies program with airlines all Irish roads are now freeways. You can travel at any speed in any lane.

24. If you own a haulage firm in urban areas you should consider tractors. Why pay for someone with a full HGV license when a 17 year old can pull 40 foot containers on trailers on a W license. And besides traffic doesn't move that fast around the city. Only today I saw a big green tractor doing 25mph on the Naas road and didn't pull into the leftmost available lane on the left to let traffic past. With a bit more poke it would have been able to do 30mph and qualify for M50 usage.

25. The 50mph speed limit for trailers doesn't apply to SUV's, stuff in open trailers or commercial vehicles.

26. Bus lanes are to be used if you intend to turn left at any time in the future. Delivery vans must use them if other lanes are busy.