Quick questions

Brow

In the build up to my test just want to ask some quick questions while theyre on my mind!

1. The sleeping policeman road bumps kinda like the ones i have below



If im in traffic can i stop on them or should i stop before them if not enough room?

2. Bike lanes. Can i cross in to a bike lane to overtake a car say turning right if the white line is broken and not if its solid?

3. Can you definitely take off your seat belt when reversing around a corner in the test? Also if you **** up (say mount the curb) is it an instant fail?

Probably straightforward enough questions but just need confirmation. Its hard to find a straight answer on google directed at irish standards. Thanks in advance!

jordainius

I wouldn't stop on them (road bumps) myself. If I had to stop I'd stop before it. Not on it. I don't actually know a definite answer but it would seem safer to stop before if I had to. When in doubt, I pick the safest option.

Not sure about your second question! I don't really understand, it would be great if you could post a diagram of some sorts!!

And the seatbelt; my instructor always told me to keep the belt on at all times. I've heard about some saying its okay to take it off for the reverse but I don't see why anyone would do this anyway.

It seems unsafe to do so. There's still a chance of being crashed into during the reverse so I find it hard to believe that it would be allowed to not wear it under any circumstances.

Not very helpful by way of definite answers (sorry!!) but thats my take on it!

Wishbone Ash

Brow wrote: »

1. The sleeping policeman road bumps

Speed cushions.

Brow wrote:

can i stop on them or should i stop before them if not enough room?

Presumably you mean in heavy stop/start traffic?

Don't stop with one wheel up on the cushion. Wait until you have enough room on the other side.

Brow wrote:

2. Bike lanes. Can i cross in to a bike lane to overtake a car say turning right if the white line is broken and not if its solid?

There's a difference between a cycle lane and a cycle track. A cycle lane is dedicated to cyclists and has a continuous white line so it can't legally be crossed in most situations.

A cycle track has a broken white line and is often shared with vehicular traffic. It can be crossed but only if it is safe to do so!

Brow wrote:

3. Can you definitely take off your seat belt when reversing around a corner in the test?

Yes - there is no legal requirement to wear a seatbelt while reversing a vehicle.

Brow wrote:

Also if you **** up (say mount the curb) is it an instant fail?

It would probably depend on the circumstances and the examiner. Presumably, if you were to mount the kerb while pedestrians are in the immediate vicinity, it would be an instant fail. Otherwise I'm not sure.

Perhaps on of the instructors who post here may clarify.

(There's no logical reason why you should mount the kerb anyway. If you are going off course at a normal speed you should have detected that you have made contact with the kerb. Driving up on the kerb usually takes a bit of effort.)

Wishbone Ash

jordainius wrote: »

I don't see why anyone would do this anyway.

It seems unsafe to do so. There's still a chance of being crashed into during the reverse so I find it hard to believe that it would be allowed to not wear it under any circumstances.

I'd say it a legacy from the early days of seat belts. Modern seat belts have an inertia reel which allows the belt to extend/retract at normal speeds, eg. if you lean forward, reach into glove box etc. It also allows the belt to neatly roll up when you undo it.

The early belts were very uncomfortable as the lenght had to be adjusted each time they were used (like an aeroplane lap belt). Once it was set one couldn't move around much, especially when reversing without undoing it. And they wonder why drivers were reluctant to use them before it became compulsory!

The other problem with the old belts was that they didn't roll up after use. They could often be seen trailing out from the door of cars, especially on the passenger side. In rural areas, if someone stopped to give a lift, the belt was often covered in muck and dung leaving little incentive for putting it on!

Brow

Thanks for the help! Just to clarify some things on my second question can you post an example Wishbone Ash of what your talking about if possible? I was gonna post a pic of what i meant but dunno how!

I'll show you where I was when I thought of this. On google maps find where beaumont road and coolatree road join for example. If the car is turning from beaumont road onto coolatree can i overtake on the left if the line is broken or should i just queue up behind? Cars on that road do it all the time but for my test i want to make sure im not breaking some rules in doing it. Dont want to hold up traffic if i can do it!

DriveSkill

Just in relation to your last question on mounting the kerb, in pretty much 99% of cases this will be a grade 3 and therefore an immediate fail - touching the kerb is normally a grade 2. It doesnt matter if there are pedestrians in the area or not - the definition of a Grade 3 fault is "dangerous or potentially dangerous" so even if there was no immediate danger in the test circumstances it will be marked as Grade 3.

The two most common scenarios for mounting the kerb are :

1. During the reverse

Remember dont try and be too close to the kerb, 18 inches or 0.5 meter is fine, gives you a little maneouver room

2. Tight left hand junctions where the rear wheel cuts the corner.

Depending on the test route you may not encounter this. Main thing to remember is that the rear wheels follow a tighter line than the front wheels so dont cut the corner too tight with the front or the rear left wheel will end up on the kerb!.

brian076

DriveSkill wrote: »

Just in relation to your last question on mounting the kerb, in pretty much 99% of cases this will be a grade 3 and therefore an immediate fail - touching the kerb is normally a grade 2.

This is a tricky one and is very often down to the tester's interpretation of whether it is potentially dangerous or not.

During our tester training with the RSA we were told that mounting the kerb with the rear wheels at slow speed should be regarded as a Grade 2 fault, once the candidate corrects the mistake. If the kerb is mounted at speed or with front & rear wheels, it would be a Grade 3 fault.

We often found however that when being supervised during tests by RSA testers, many of them had conflicting opinions as to what constituted a Grade 3 fault.

DriveSkill

Brow wrote: »

Thanks for the help! Just to clarify some things on my second question can you post an example Wishbone Ash of what your talking about if possible? I was gonna post a pic of what i meant but dunno how!

I'll show you where I was when I thought of this. On google maps find where beaumont road and coolatree road join for example. If the car is turning from beaumont road onto coolatree can i overtake on the left if the line is broken or should i just queue up behind? Cars on that road do it all the time but for my test i want to make sure im not breaking some rules in doing it. Dont want to hold up traffic if i can do it!

Not sure if this is the junction you are referring to :




As you can see above the 'cycle track' (continuous white line) becomes a 'cycle lane' (broken white line) in the section opposite the junction. This indicates that traffic may use the cycle lane provided it is safe. Where there is a Cycle Track marked with a continuous white line traffic may not cross it apart from using an entrance.

DriveSkill

brian076 wrote: »

This is a tricky one and is very often down to the tester's interpretation of whether it is potentially dangerous or not.

During our tester training with the RSA we were told that mounting the kerb with the rear wheels at slow speed should be regarded as a Grade 2 fault, once the candidate corrects the mistake. If the kerb is mounted at speed or with front & rear wheels, it would be a Grade 3 fault.

We often found however that when being supervised during tests by RSA testers, many of them had conflicting opinions as to what constituted a Grade 3 fault.

Thanks for clarifying - maybe I should revise my 99% downwards

Alanstrainor

I also think it's worth noting that there is a difference between "mounting" and "touching" the kerb. Mounting meaning a wheel/wheels end up on the kerb, where as simply touching the kerb with a wheel would only warrant a grade 1, or possibly a grade 2.

Brow

Yeah DriveSkill thats an example of what i was talking about.

Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated! Now to just master the other 10390872398724 things to pass the test...:o