Are the Irish bad drivers?

Some are great drivers, some are bad drivers, most are somewhere in the middle.

Probably the same as everywhere else but laws don't seem to be enforced here very much.

Yes, there are some bad Irish drivers but nearly as bad as some make out. Personally, I spend more time worrying about my own driving that anyone else's. It makes for a more peaceful and safer journey.

On the whole Id say the standard of driving in Ireland is quite poor. Dont know or care how it compares to other countries, but too many drivers over here seem lacking in the basic skills and knowledge of every day motoring. Lane discipline, roundabouts, when/how to use lights, general road etiquette; all things too many drivers in this country do not understand.

Unfortunately we can hardly expect any better when we have a pretty poor driver education system, badly enforced traffic laws and bumbling fools like the RSA confusing matters with silly law changes and half arsed efforts to put out easy to understand notices and adverts which really have no effect whatsoever.

Contrary to popular (Irish) belief, Irish drivers are among the best in the world. Now, no one is perfect, but when it comes to mutual respect on the road (including but not limited to letting someone pass at a junction) is simply unmatched.

I have traveled in most countries in the world, Is still in my top 3 safest places to drive.

60% bad, 30% good 10% terrible!

Always helps to just concentrate on your own driving though.

I think boards have a ban on talking about the fog light thing? They used to anyway!!!

Additions to the list:
Sitting in the middle lane on the motorway
Sitting in the overtaking lane (there is no such thing as a fast lane!)
Not moving out from the left lane to allow merging traffic from a slip road
Not getting up to speed on the slip road to be able to merge with motorway traffic
Talking on their phones while driving

And generally being in front of me when I am driving home with a take away! :-)
(Just kidding)

Deleted User wrote: »

Exactly

I was being tongue in cheek with you obviously; I have no idea how you drive! But it is alarming the amount of people who, when pulled up on something they are doing wrong, will argue until they are blue in the face that they are right. I was informed by one genius before that all cars are supposed to be driving in the middle lane of the Naas dual carraigeway, and that the left hand lane was only for trucks and other slow moving vehicles, and they werent having any of it when I politely told them that they were wrong...

I drove 3000 odd miles in the US over the summer. On highways, freeways, urban and dirt roads.

I see more bad habits/poor driving in 100 miles here over a week.

The main problem for me is people not knowing how to use roundabouts.
On a daily basis, I encounter people putting themselves in the left hand lane even though they are going right at the roundabout.
Or it's people that pull up to a roundabout and then stop, even though they have right of way, and wait until there's no cars around at all to pull off.

It's alright saying concentrate on your own driving, but somebody else's mistake could kill you, so I feel ok about getting a little wound up sometimes.