Theory test for driving

bossman

Anyone know where i could get a look at samples of the questions for the theory driving test ?

fragile

oasis.gov.ie for information, basically your local library or bookshop will have a copy. I ordered a copy of the book online off easons.ie

koneko

Easons have the book (a few euro) and the CD-ROM (about a tenner). Should give you all the info you need. The CD-ROM will basically give you the same tests, on your own PC, good practice.

bossman

Will start there.

Yoda

Have they been reprinted with kilometres instead of miles per hour?

I bought them last year, as eventually I'll have to get an Irish licence. I found the language used in many of the questions to be rather ambiguous and imprecise. It needs a good editor.

In a few instances I was completely floored by some differences in Irish and US English. What is called "the inside lane" here is called "the outside lane" in the US.

Eventually I'll buckle down and take the written test and start the horror. Not looking forward to it.

Alun

Yoda wrote:

In a few instances I was completely floored by some differences in Irish and US English. What is called "the inside lane" here is called "the outside lane" in the US.

That's a good one ... to me the inside lane on a road (over here) is the left-hand lane, but the inside lane on a roundabout is the right-hand one, i.e. the one on the 'inside' of the roundabout.

Yoda

It's not funny. It's hopelessly illogical!

The US rationale is that for any stretch of road (bidirectional traffic is assumed), "inside" is the middle, where the two opposing lanes meet, and "outside" is the two edges of the road itself.

I can't fathom the logic of the Irish terminology.

Alun

Yoda wrote:

It's not funny. It's hopelessly illogical!

The US rationale is that for any stretch of road (bidirectional traffic is assumed), "inside" is the middle, where the two opposing lanes meet, and "outside" is the two edges of the road itself.

I can't fathom the logic of the Irish terminology.

It's not just Irish, they use the same terminology in the UK too.

Yoda

I fail to see the logic of the European English terminology, then. Even when you're in the driver's seat, the edge of the road is farther away from you than the middle. So, how is the middle the "outside", and the edge the "inside"?

fragile

Some of the questions in the book have a wrong answer, but you have to give the wrong answer that they say is the correct one to get the marks in the exam. Here is an example:

Two vehicles each travelling at 50 m.p.h collide head-on. What would be the combined speed at impact?

(a) 100 m.p.h
(b) 200 m.p.h
(c) 50 m.p.h

(a) is listed as being the correct answer, which is complete boll0x, at impact the equivelant speeds would cancel each other out and the combined speed would be zero because neither would be moving.

On another note why do the dept' of the environemnt and local government insist on publishing the questions as a book and CD-ROM only, why don't they make it available as a PDF download on oasis.gov.ie? it seems a bit crap that they insist people pay for it and then when something like the MPH to KM changeover happens you have to go out and buy it again (if you still havn't passed) :mad:

Yoda

It's not even a driving question, it's algebra. Or something. Bleah.

The written exam I took when I was 17 in Arizona had questions out of the book, and all of them had to do with practical aspects of knowing what to do on the road. The question cited above is for insurance agents. It has nothing to do with driving defensively.

Alun

fragile wrote:

Some of the questions in the book have a wrong answer, but you have to give the wrong answer that they say is the correct one to get the marks in the exam. Here is an example:

Two vehicles each travelling at 50 m.p.h collide head-on. What would be the combined speed at impact?

(a) 100 m.p.h
(b) 200 m.p.h
(c) 50 m.p.h

(a) is listed as being the correct answer, which is complete boll0x, at impact the equivelant speeds would cancel each other out and the combined speed would be zero because neither would be moving.

Of course a) is the right answer! They're heading towards each other each at 50mph, so the combined speed of the impact is 100mph, i.e. it's the equivalent of one car travelling at 100mph crashing into an unmovable brick wall. They're not asking you what speed the combined lump of twisted wreckage is going to travel at after impact, which as you point out will be roughly zero.

Alun

Yoda wrote:

It's not even a driving question, it's algebra. Or something. Bleah.

Simple, basic maths, nothing too taxing

The question cited above is for insurance agents. It has nothing to do with driving defensively.

Of course it does. The intention is drive home the message that a head on impact where both vehicles are travelling at 50mph is the equivalent to hitting a stationary immovable object at 100mph.

Yoda

Simple maths? I'm an alphabetician.

A theory exam is not supposed to "drive home a message". Or it's a pretty weird way of examining, that's all I can say. I paged through the booklet. It's a lot bigger than US driving test manuals I've seen (Arizona, California, Oregon), and it's got an awful lot of rather confusing material in it. I was a licensed driver in those states, and a good driver too.

I'm smart. I aced exams my whole life. I'm not at all looking forward to taking Ireland's theory exam.

fragile

Alun wrote:

Of course a) is the right answer! They're heading towards each other each at 50mph, so the combined speed of the impact is 100mph, i.e. it's the equivalent of one car travelling at 100mph crashing into an unmovable brick wall. They're not asking you what speed the combined lump of twisted wreckage is going to travel at after impact, which as you point out will be roughly zero.

Wrong, speed is a measure of movement, at the exact time of impact the movement is zero, the combined force is equivelant to 100 m.p.h.

Alun

fragile wrote:

Wrong, speed is a measure of movement, at the exact time of impact the movement is zero, the combined force is equivelant to 100 m.p.h.

OK, if you want to be a smart alec, but this is a driving test question, not a Leaving Cert maths or physics question, and I think it's pretty obvious to anybody with a modicum of common sense what they're trying to get at in asking the question.

So, do you have any more examples of "wrong" answers being the "right" one?

Silvera

Yoda wrote:

In a few instances I was completely floored by some differences in Irish and US English. What is called "the inside lane" here is called "the outside lane" in the US.

Thats because you drive on the wrong side of the road in America !

Seriously though, I did the theory test for my Truck licence in 1999 (which has a lot more info than a car or bike test!) - and it was easy.
It's just a matter of learning it off !

best of luck with your test Yoda !

.............and welcome to Ireland

fragile

Alun wrote:

OK, if you want to be a smart alec, but this is a driving test question, not a Leaving Cert maths or physics question, and I think it's pretty obvious to anybody with a modicum of common sense what they're trying to get at in asking the question.

They are still wrong, all I am saying is that they phrased the question badly

So, do you have any more examples of "wrong" answers being the "right" one?

Not yet, I have only started looking through the book and that was the first one I came across but I have been told there a few more.

DubTony

Yoda makes the point that he was a qualified driver in several U.S. states. Well, considering the test, I'm not sure I'd shout about it.

I took the test in Massachusetts in 1990. I'm obviously not familiar with the Irish theory test as I'm ... older.
But the Mass. version was 10 or 12 multiple choice questions. Consider I'd been driving for 8 years before I took the thing and you might appreciate my reaction to the first question on the list. It went something like this.

What is a seat (safety) belt for?

a) Holding your groceries in place on the passenger seat.
b) Holding your dog and preventing it jumping around the car.
c) Preventing you from being propelled through the windshield in the event of a crash

I know there were four answers, but I was laughing so hard I can't remember what the other one was.

I was in a room with about 20 others, mainly foreign nationals, and a couple of American kids. I almost released body fluids when I saw the question. Thankfully I had taken a seat right at the back ... old habits die hard .... and managed to contain myself so that the DMV woman at the front didn't notice the crazy Irishman at the back falling off his chair in a knot.

By the way .... , I "aced" the test. Imagine ....

Tony

Yoda

The Massachusetts test doesn't seem to be particularly challenging, no. But carnage from shìtty driving on Massachusetts rodes is probably less than it is on this fine island even so, I'll wager.

I don't recall questions on the AZ or OR tests to be quite so idiotic, though.

Branoic

Regarding the whole "inside" lane VS "outside" lane, i think there is some logic to be seen in the Irish terminology. When you talk of "lanes", you're essentially only talking about the lanes of traffic on the side of the road you're travelling on, ie, the left side. So for this example, pretend the right side doesn't exist. Now, normally, if the left side has two lanes, you drive on the innermost one, the one nearest the kerb. The other lane, the one nearer the middle of the road, is mainly just used for overtaking. Therefore the normal lane is the inside one, the overtaking lane is the outside one. Easy.

expatica

Hi Guys, the irish driver theory test book is well out-of-date and way over-priced. You can access the irish driver theory test website, 1stDriverTheoryTest.com conveniently online - it's up-to-date and way better than the driver theory book as well, because you can do mock driver theory tests, practice tests, and it has all the irish driving theory information too! Even if you're on a year out down in australia or somewhere, you can login and be ready to get a provisional licence by the time you get back!

I joined a couple of weeks ago from Sydney! - and got 40/40 in the theory test last week when I got back! All my friends are gonna do the theory test using 1stDriverTheoryTest.com too, as it's available 24/7 worldwide - great for the committed expats amongst us! Another feature available on 1stDriverTheoryTest.com is up-to-date information on how the metric change-over affects the theory test.

Great way to prepare for the test, in your own time, all from the comfort of the office! Wish I could fly though - a car could never get me out of Ireland fast enough!

Branoic

You know, if i were a more suspicious type, I'd say that sounded remarkably like an advertisement.

Andrew Duffy

Do a search for that user's posts...

Branoic

Haha, whaddyaknow? :rolleyes:

murphaph

@Yoda:
I know that AZ has a reciprocal agreement weith Germany wrt. the test. Germany is completely satisfied that a qualified AZ driver can simply exchange their licence for a german one. No theory, no practical. if you still hold it, I'd bet Ireland would do the same (or else go register in Germany and get a german one!!). of course if your licence expired some time ago, it may be no good and require a full test. I'm pretty sure germany does not recognise oregon or California licences and requires a full test.

expatica

no advertisement, just doing my bit to combat the rip-off. what's the point when the conserverati are doing their bit to ensure the rip-off!

Sully

Branoic wrote:

You know, if i were a more suspicious type, I'd say that sounded remarkably like an advertisement.

Thats exactly what I thought!

- Sully