You should be travelling on the inside lane on the motorway ie the left lane, the outside lane is for overtaking. On a roundabout left lane for turning left and straight, right lane for turning right and always yield to the right.
Very good video - I'm a former driving instructor and live on the West cost of Ireland....! A few tips for you that will also help....! Approaching roundabout - check the signs on approach for your exit - treat it as a clock face - if your exit is on the left or straight ahead you should approach in the left lane - if your exit is on the right of 12 o'clock approach on the right - check road for lane arrows to correspond with your exit - Signal right if your exit is on the right - left if it is on the left - no signal for straight ahead - but always signal left when you pass the last exit before yours - always give way to traffic from the right on approach - unless roundabout is controlled by lights....! White lines - Double white do not cross or overtake - Single solid white mine also means it's not safe to overtake and found often on rural roads...! - Broken white lines - overtaking allowed - if it is safe to do so - longer gaps means less hazardous stretch for overtaking - shorter gaps mean more hazardous for overtaking....! General driving - drive on the left unless you are overtaking or turning right - on roads with more than one lane - the right is for overtaking - once you have completed overtake return to the left lane....!
1:52 Keep to the left, unless you are passing another vehicle on their right. On motorways, with 3 lanes in each direction, there are no 'fast' or 'slow' lanes- keep to the left as much as possible.
Awesome video, guys👍. I'm a Canadian just about to pick up my rental vehicle in Dublin to start our road trip across the republic and I've watched your video few times to alleviate my anxiety.
I'm from Northern Ireland and I drove through Dublin a long time ago and it scared the living daylights out of me. You are a brave man doing it as an American and having to drive on the left and change to a different side to drive the car. Bravo.
Yes agree 100 % Its absolutely terrifying And going down the country to all the other cities Omg you have to have your senses about you I have a brother who drives like a lunatic This is the reason so many people are killed on the roads in Ireland I don't if it has changed now I am going back about 20 years
As an Irish person, I can say that this is all solid advice, and fair. Only thing is, traffic enforcement is often done by unmarked cars (looks like a civilian vehicle but has concealed blue lights). So you won't ever notice them unless they are pulling someone over. Also speeding is policed by automated camera systems in vans (usually concealed from view until it's too late) or mounted on bridges etc. If you are in a rental, the speeding ticket will be waiting for you when you drop off and you will still never have seen a police car (Police are called Gardaí). Parking varies from town to town. Many towns have wardens who are very quick to hunt down and ticket illegally parked cars. In more rural villages, you may get away with bad parking but in the larger cities, you have an extremely high chance of being clamped or towed away. Irish people generally drive carefully, always wear seatbelts and never under the influence because the penalties are severe (both monetary and via penalty points), and due to the effect of having penalty points on insurance costs. I think that you've made assumptions about policing because you didn't see marked cars anywhere, but if you are a visitor, don't ruin your stay by being fined because you thought there was a casual attitude.
Some friendly advice! Like many American tourists, I see that you are driving in the overtaking lane on the motorway (what you call Highway) even when you are not overtaking. To avoid being the victim of some serious road rage, pull into the inside lane when not overtaking!! Also, it's illegal and you can be fined for this.
Thank you! This was very informative especially for safety. I have driven in Ireland before but it's been about 25 years - so this was a nice 'refresher' before I leave! ☘☘☘
Tip1: If you cant thank a driver for yielding you because you are driving away from them, or simply going the opposite direction, toggle your hazards on for a few seconds then off. This will let the other driver know you're thanking them from a distance. Tip2: In a roundabout, if cars are waiting to enter the roundabout, but you are going to drive past them instead of taking the exit, sometimes especially on big roundabouts with multiple exits, it is common to turn the blinker facing the roundabout's center as in a way to tell drivers you are not exiting the roundabout yet. Same as you should ALWAYS use your blinkers to signal that you intend to exit the roundabout. Tip3: Because of narrow roads, especially on 2 way roads, truck drivers will sometimes stick to the left so you can see the incoming traffic, and even use a hand gesture telling you that it´s safe to overtake them. Tip4: Some times pedestrians will not cross the road and yield cars with hand gestures, it is completely up to you to let them pass or not. In my opinion and following the traffic law, I always let them pass no matter what, as some times they indicate you can pass but another ped is crossing from the opposite side, and if you don't spot them you may run them over. (Especially kids) Hope this helps, drive safe!
No such thing as a fast lane. Outside lanes are for overtaking. First rule of the road - drive on the left. That means move back to left-hand side of road as soon as possible after overtaking. If that's not practical -- because traffic in the inside lane is bunched up, for example, as it often is, illegally so -- then continue overtaking inside-lane traffic. Do not just drift in the outside lane.
The 'Fast Lane' - what is that??? On a 4 lane motorway, there are two lanes in any one direction - the traffic lane is on the left and the overtaking lane is on the right. On a 6 lane motorway, there are three lanes in any one direction - they are named from left to right, Lane 1, Lane 2 and Lane 3. Lane 1 is the traffic lane, Lane 2 is the first overtaking lane & Lane 3 is the second overtaking lane. If there's continuous slow traffic in Lane 1, you may remain in Lane 2 until Lane 1 becomes clear again thus allowing you to move back in while maintaining your speed. Lane 3 is for overtaking any slower vehicles in Lane 2 which happen to be overtaking even slower vehicles.
Simplest hint - The steering wheel is in the middle of the road. In me younger days I would go back and forth between Ireland, US, UK, France and that was the simplest way to get oriented.
Thank you for posting this! Wife n I heading to Ireland next month, renting a car and setting of to see what we can see! A bit nervous in driving on opposite sides and your video took alot of the mystery out of it all-especially roundabouts. Thanks again!
You're welcome! You'll be just fine. Some good comments below regarding not driving in the right lane unless to overtake will prove useful for you as well.
Super helpful! I'll be there in a few weeks and I'm doing all the driving for my family, and I've been super nervous. Thanks for the tip about what kind of gas to use!
I just spent 2 weeks in nw Ireland. There are also L roads. These were usually more narrow and winding. Driving around Ireland for 2 weeks was one of the best adventure’s I’ve ever been on.
Driving in Ireland + Jet Lag = Adventure. I actually enjoyed driving in Ireland, except for the super skinny, one-card roads we found. But even then, what an adventure. Great vid. We just subscribed!
What a lady and gentleman ! Well done you two Very well explained ! Infact perfectly 👌 I'm irish, but live in uk But seen how you've took the time to help the next tourist is what its all bout ! Ireland 🇮🇪 is such a butiful and wonderful place I bet you all loved it ! Makes me proud to call it my home
Thanks for this video! I’m headed to Ireland in two weeks and was anxious about driving on the opposite side of the road, and driving A RHD car in manual. I haven’t driven a manual exclusively for about 10 years, so that part I am looking forward to, as I missing driving a manual. Great information!
Ireland is beautiful! Best tip for getting around in your rental car: rent THE TINIEST car you can! The jaw dropping beauty of the scenic routes is best enjoyed when you don't have to worry about squeezing your car between oncoming trucks & buses on one side and the ever present rock walls on the other. We were so happy when we rented a Camry sized auto-- until our side mirror broke away & soon after had a flat tire from trying to keep from being hit by an oncoming lorry -- then we wished we could have rented something MUCH much smaller. It would have been so much more fun in a tiny car!!
This was a helpful video for us, but the best advice we got on driving was from two cab drivers. When turning always think "Short Left, Wide Right." As for keeping left always think "Passenger in the Ditch." Though they used another word for passenger. Other funny note. Many cars had a big "N" or a big "L" in the window. N for "new" driver, just got their license. Or "L" for Learner. Thanks for this video it really helped.
'N' for novice, newly passed driving test and under probation for two years. 'L' is leaner, for those on a provisional licence - such drivers are supposed to have fully qualified driver alongside. A rule that seems to be ignored by all! Beware of Nissan Micra and Toyota Yaris drivers with 'L' plates (which is to say - all of them!) who are entirely unsuited to driving...
Not staying left on the motorway? Maybe mention a blinker on roundabouts? I was there last week and two different Americans were killed trying to drive.
Other countries besides Ireland and the UK also drive on the left. Like Japan, Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and even some parts of the Caribbean.
Well done. On the motorway drive in the left lane - the right lane is just for overtaking and you will soon have some guy behind you wanting to get ahead. We have very few speed cops but they have franchised speeding out to a private company who will park their van in a gateway and try to nab you doing 40 in a 30 kilometer zone - usually on the edges of towns. However for rental cars I doubt if they would issue a ticket.
Red lights mean stop,always. If you're turning left or right and your way is clear doesnt matter red is stop. Phone in your hand when your moving or stoped in traffic means a fine and ticket,just holding it and your done,but passengers are ok.seatbelts front and rear have it on or you're done again.under 18 no seatbelt and the driver gets done again for allowing it. Speed limits used to be a little relaxed but not now,over is over. And stay on the left or a head on is on the cards, n they hurt.
Australian here. I visited the UK back in 2018, never got to Ireland but I'm sure it's very similar. Had a car for three weeks and became very good at squeezing it through very tight spaces. Have also driven all over the US three times and on the last trip in 2015, almost had a head-on crash, for obvious reasons. Amazed that could happen after so much time on the RHS of the road. The lesson - NEVER let your guard down.
The roads in your video were pretty wide. I was in County Wicklow on some dirt backroads much narrower and with farm equipment trying to get by. There is also very little margin for error with maybe 6 inches between an oncoming car and 6 inches from a stone wall on the passenger side. There were also tons of blind corners from hedges and walls. Those were pretty dicey at many places and made me far more nervous than any road I'd been on in the US.
Just spent two months driving in Ireland and NI, and, believe me, they're enforcing the laws! I had a speed camera pick me up going 59 kph in a 50 kph zone (36 mph in a 30 mph zone). It cost me €80 plus the €30 that Avis charged me for giving the gardai my information. (Yes, Avis sucks and don't buy any supplementary insurance from Expedia, it is a scam). One advantage of getting the navigation unit is that it tells you when you're in a speed camera zone. Otherwise driving in Ireland is a blast! One last thing: yes, MNR roads as pinned below, also L roads (local), sometimes dirt or gravel, almost always narrow and twisty but they will get you where you need to go.
I live in Southern England, from where it's very easy to get to Northern France by car ferry or tunnel shuttle (or was until the idiocy of Brexit), so perhaps I had to master driving on the unfamiliar side of the road fairly early. But yeah, it's less tricky than you'd think it would be, I reckon. I've driven my own UK car in France, and rental cars, of the appropriate handedness, in Spain, the US, Canada and (on the left) Australia. What I've found is that driving on the familiar side is slightly lower in workload, but not all that much. I've not actually driven in Ireland, but the differences between the RoI and the UK (though there are differences) are fairly minor, I think: distances in km, more stop signs, more North-American-style road signs; that's about it. So I assume it'd be OK.
Thank you for your very informative video about driving in Ireland. We are also Americans planning a trip to Ireland and will also be renting a car with manual transmission. I am freaked out about the rotaries/roundabouts so your explanation of them helped make them seem managable. I like the tip about positioning the mirrors also. Thanks for sharing part of your vacation with others to help calm the driving jitters!
kilgore trout you can rent automatics, so I don't see why you have to use a manual?!?! Some good tips in this video, Drive safe and enjoy your holiday, Fàilte go hÈireann.
The cost of renting a car with automatic transmission is cost-prohibitive, crazy expensive. I can drive manual transmission but it will take a bit of time getting used to the shifting with the left hand versus the right! I guess I am mostly concerned about those numerous rotaries and how to manuver around them from the left side of the road! Hopefully, they will be OK too with a bit of practice. Thank you for your message! We are so excited to be visiting your country!
kilgore trout ..don't worry about it you'll be grand , there's no j walking over here so if there's a gap in traffic we go for it...gets us into trouble when we go abroad😀
At 0:32, 1:51 and 2:04, you seem to be cruising in the right-hand lane without overtaking anyone. This is known as lanehogging and can be really annoying to other faster-moving traffic (I appreciate you may be doing the speed limit, but still). Unless overtaking or doing junctions, you should be in the left lane as the right lane is the lane for overtaking or the 'fast' lane, not the cruising lane. Hogging this lane only encourages undertaking which shouldn't happen and is dangerous
@@Patmofar we have the same rules in the US. The left lane is the fast lane and for passing per our instruction when we get our license. Americans just don't follow the rules after they get their license. It's super annoying.
I am leaving soon for three weeks in Ireland by myself, driving and mainly car camping around the country. I am happy I've planned my Dublin days up front, without the car. It'll give me a chance to adjust. Then I'll go back to airport, pick up the vehicle and drive southwest, not returning to Dublin city at all, but returning the car and flying home same day. This video was excellent.
And this is the reason why our driving test is quite difficult. Many take a few times to pass because you need to show you can be vigilant at all times. One thing you haven't mentioned is that our parking spaces will be much smaller than yours so you have to know how to park precisely. Also I dunno how you haven't seen many Gardai out unless you're missing the speed vans, the cameras and the checkpoints. There is huge clampdown on learner drivers driving on their own and being from Dublin myself, I have experienced them regularly, thankfully I have a full license. They often set up checkpoints to breathalyze at night time or early morning. Your left hand side mirror is more for changing lanes or turning left, checking there isn't another vehicle, cyclist or motorist there when you choose to move - not so much for your road positioning! That is really serious because you might hear a motorbike or a car but you won't hear a cyclist and they really need to be minded.
thank you so much! we are heading to Ireland soon and have watched this a few times as our guide to driving! I am soooo scared to crash!!! Thanks for the tips!!!
Done well, although just a hint, at 1:52 if there is no traffic in the left hand lane on dual carriageway and motorways you should be traveling in that lane, otherwise you will have somebody drive up behind you flashing for you to move over so they can overtake as undertaking is illegal here :)
Undertaking is NOT illegal on Irish motorways as there is no legal definition of " slow moving traffic", in the Road Traffic Act. Also legal on all multilane roads, single or duel carriageways in UK.
@@Seanmcdhuibhne 100% illegal to overtake on the left. Few exceptions - if you are taking next left turn, if vehicle in front is turning right, in slow (and it is interpreted as very slow) traffic if your lane is moving faster than the outer lane.
@@harleydonski The advice at that link may apply in Northern Ireland but the .co.uk means it is United Kingdom based. www.rsa.ie/Documents/RotR%20BOOK%20for%20web%202019.pdf links to Ireland's Rules of the Road - a laymans interpretation of the Irish Road Traffic Acts.
@@vic_tim7956 Overtaking Note, nowhere in the rule on Overtaking on left on motorways does it say you MUST NOT. As explaines at the Introduction the only words that make a rule mandatory are Must/Must Not. Overtaking Overtake only on the right, unless traffic is travelling in slow moving queues and the traffic queue on your right is travelling more slowly than you are. If you intend to move from a slower lane to a faster lane, adjust your speed first. Before you start to overtake, remember ‘mirror, signal, mirror, manoeuvre’, and look in your blind spots. Check that the way is clear (behind and ahead) and signal well in advance. Remember that traffic will be travelling a lot faster than on ordinary roads. Be particularly careful at dusk, during darkness, and in poor weather conditions when it is more difficult to judge speed, distance and stopping distance. Signal and return to your original lane as soon as possible. Also like to mention it is not illegal in UK that includes N.I on any road that has two lanes in same direction.
Your video is helpful. When I was your age I lived in Australia for 3+ years. It took me a whole year to be able to drive without constant concentration, 'keep left, keep left, keep left.' The quadruple roundabouts in England are a nightmare, looks like Ireland is easier.
@MCMA-up5nc Welcome! You must be here as I post this... We haven’t had a ‘summer’ yet! The rain and wind from the remnants of hurricane Ernesto have swept through the West and now we have storm Lillian! Not great conditions for driving so please stay safe on the roads and enjoy some time in a cosy traditional pub beside the fire and hopefully with a trad session in the evening. Have a great trip! 💫💕😊
It is possible that the custom of driving on the left dates back to pre-history and may later have been used as an early road safety measure. At a time when the main danger on the roads was mugging, careful travellers would pass on-coming strangers on the left with their sword arm towards the passer-by. The keep left rule did not become law in Britain until the increase in horse traffic made some sort of enforcement essential. Before this, the drivers of coaches leaving London for the country simply chose the firmest part of the road. The main dates for the introduction of the legal requirement to keep left are: 1756 - London Bridge 1772 - Towns in Scotland 1835 - All roads in Great Britain and Ireland. In Europe, Pope Boniface VIII instructed pilgrims to keep to the left in the year 1300. Later, class distinction in France meant that aristocrats drove their carriages on the left side of the road forcing everybody else over to the centre or to the right-hand side. Keeping left had really only ever applied to riding or driving. With the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and the subsequent declaration of the rights of man in 1791 many aristocrats decided to keep to the ‘poor side’ of the road so as not to draw attention to themselves. Keeping to the right of the road was also seen as a way of defying the earlier Papal decree. The subsequent Revolutionary wars and Napoleon’s European conquests led to the spread of driving on the right to Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. Napoleon ordered his armies to use the right-hand side of the road in order to avoid congestion during military manoeuvres. The nations that resisted invasion - Britain, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia and Portugal - generally kept to the left. The Netherlands changed to driving on the right in 1795, but Dutch colonies in the Far East ( Indonesia ) continued the old practices. Denmark had not been invaded by the French but changed in 1793. Russia did not switch until 1916. Czechoslovakia and Hungary were the last countries in mainland Europe to keep left, only changing to the right following invasion by Germany in the late 1930s. Portugal made the change from left to right in the 1920s; countries with border crossings found there was great confusion if drivers were required to change sides of the road when passing from country to country. Sweden remained on the left until 1967 and changed to the right following a lengthy road safety campaign. In Austria from 1805 to 1939 half the country drove on the left whilst the other half, the area that had been invaded by Napoleon, drove on the right! Most of the British Empire adopted the British custom of driving on the left although Egypt, which had been conquered by Napoleon, kept using the right after it became a British dependency. Pakistan considered changing from left to right in the 1960s,The main argument against was that camel trains often drove through the night while their drivers dozed,The difficulty in teaching old camels new tricks was a decisive factor in Pakistan rejecting the change. Canada stayed on the left until the 1920s. During the American War of Independence, French liberal reformer General Lafayette gave advice to the revolutionary forces and spread the idea of driving on the right. The keep right rule was applied to the Pennsylvania turnpike in 1792, New York in 1804 and New Jersey in 1813. Bucking the normal trend, the Pacific island of Samoa made the switch from driving on the right to driving on the left side of the road on 7 September 2009. The official reason given was so as to fall in line with near neighbours Australia and New Zealand which, like Britain, still drive on the left.
FYI dont stay in the right hand lane on a motorway. That is considered the overtaking lane. In Ireland it is illegal to undertake so traffic will not be able to get by you and it will cause A LOT of frustration to fellow drivers.
Yea but by God you have to be a mind reader to drive in Ireland, and just because you may have the right of way sometimes, it does not mean some drivers will give you the right of way,if people want u to get out of the way they will drive right up your arse to try and bully you even though you are doing the speed limit not all people but a lot.
I wanted to experience driving on the left so I chose the Cayman Islands to do so. Because Grand Cayman is so small, the roads are narrow and the speed limits are very low (35kph). I had trouble staying far enough to the left and when I made a turn I was tempted to enter the right side of the road (as in the U.S.). It helped to have my wife yell, "stay left" whenever I turned. I was beeped at with the horn several times when I was in the right lane (on the only four lane road there)and going too slow. In Grand Cayman the slow lane on a four lane road was the left lane. I learned quickly and it was a lot of fun.
Wasn't bad as I thought !! though I almost got hit leaving the Avis car rental in Dublin proper, right off the bat ..then my phone using Google maps as a GPS was acting up . Got a Sim card at Tesco cheap cheap data. So, roundabouts were very easy, made sense and I wonder why we don't have them. Highways M/N were easiet, makes sense. R /rural were the worst ! very narrow but still fast blind tight corners, walls on either side no shoulder....terrible...if you thought cops are chilled back in Ireland , go to Italy!!! But the Garda yes never saw them.
Don’t forget about the “L” roads - aka Local Roads. These are really narrow (from the American perspective), have tons of blind curves, and often have folks out walking/jogging. The hardest thing for me was getting used to hearing my wife screaming when I took curves at the same speed as the “native” drivers. :)
We called these “Oh, Jesus!” roads because that’s what we said every time we passed a car coming the other way. They usually followed rivers and streams, only had narrow or non-existent shoulder with no guard rails, and a 20-30’ drop onto rocks. Fun times.
Planning a trip with my ma to ireland. Fly into shannon and drive about, up to the north, then back down on east coast then back to shannon...just me and my mom..spiritual.journey, one last big memory of just us. My wife agrees we really need it..I am so excited
Pro tip: On a motorway you should always be in the left hand lane unless overtaking. It's not cool to cruise in the right hand lane even if you're driving the speed limit
Something I've noticed, look out for a tendency to cut the corners on right hand bends if you're used to left hand drive. A really big thing is to please remember to look right a junctions, I know that sounds obvious but I personally have 3 different friends who've been clobbered by Americans quite innocently looking the wrong way and pulling out (one very serious accident too) We have the same prob driving on the continent, Generally we all get along fine on the roads around here, caution is a good thing down country, there may be a tractor/livestock/drunk folk in dark clothes at night and crappy visibility at night due to our wonderful climate! Take it handy and you'll be grand.
Not only look right at junctions, but left and right surely? Although I take your point, too many people RH and LH drivers just look one way when pulling out from a junction - so wrong!
Petrol and diesel. Most modern cars and pumps for these have slightly different size nozzles so i helps to cut down the error. For example I was driving a Nissan Micra and tried to put diesel into it but the pump nozzle wouldnt fit into the car...so thats one way to help reduce the error...wont stop them all but is handy in some cases.
The American host uses the terms outside land and inside lane the opposite to what an Irish person would say. In Ireland the inside lane is the one nearest the side of the road... The Brits follow the same convention btw. Also I note he seems to like the overtaking lane when you should stay to the left except when overtaking...
Thank you for the tips on better use of the side view mirrors. I have driven in Ireland before, and in fact destroyed two tires because I got too close to the ditch. Going back in August, and will definitely use your advice. Thanks and God bless.
Keep between the ditches as we say in Ireland, when it comes to Gardai, they do enforce strict driving regulations so don't be fooled by saying they're no Gardai, they'll be there when u least expect it
Please mention getting insurance for the rental car. We may be going in a few months and I don't want any surprises when we get to the car rental counter. Would like to just pay and go.
I just got back few days ago, I wish I watched this before I left but I got to say that it was really fun to drive on the left side and I found it to be really easy 🇨🇮 I also did the same with the mirror, it helped a lot! The roads were so tight at time and on the roads that marked as R there are no side walks for pedestrians, so sometimes you will see people walking on the road. Also people don’t follow the speed limits, no matter speed I drove there were people tailgating me.
I just got back from an Ireland vacation. I rented a car and actually did quite a bit of driving and it really wasn't that bad. You'll definitely want to pay a little extra for the GPS and if you plan on driving on the wild Atlantic way you'll want to pay a little extra for the full insurance coverage. The roads are narrow and we had quite a few tiny scratches along the side of our car from the shrubs and brush on the side of the road. It's pretty much unavoidable.
I think it’s wrong that you say there is no police monitoring. For speeding we don’t get pulled over as such like the USA. There are anonymous speed cameras and if a car exceeds the speed limited, a photo is taken and then the driver get the fine in the post and penalty points on their drivers license. We get pulled over randomly for breathalyzer tests and these are more frequent in December coming up to Christmas. The whole motorway will be shut and each driver one by one will be tested. So the police tend to check everyone and not just one person to make it fair. That relates to drinking and speeding. We have zero tolorence on both
Great Job! We visited twice and I drove with my best friend over 2000 miles total. We are returning this June for more exploring! You really gave the people good advice!
Joesbabe Smith wow 2000 miles... U did a lot if driving considering how small our country is 300 miles wide 600 miles long..... Hope u have fun on your next visit
Please do not use the right hand lane for regular driving on motorways. Please use the left hand lane, lane 1. Only use the right hand lane when overtaking, or letting other road users merge onto the road, but only switch lanes for merging traffic when it is safe to do so.
thank you for this video. We are currently trying to plan a trip for ireland and this is one of the "sticklers" for me per se. My husband refuses to drive in Ireland and prefers a guided tour where we dont have to drive. however, its much more expensive to do it this way. I would end up doing the driving here. So this video does help somewhat with the anxiety over this.
My daughter and I went to Scotland last year and after the first day of driving it was very easy to drive around ! Going through my first round about was interesting but fine. Thanks for posting.
monta w.Not necessarily the same .I know that they have passing points on narrow roads up there that we don't.Thats partly due to the planning laws because houses are built throughout the countryside in ireland and are set off the roads so you can pull in every few bungalows in scotland you can only build in villages or towns.The populations and areas are the same,but scotlands countryside is much emptier and quieter than ours. in ireland your much more likely to meet a car.I believe the single lane roadsa are wider up there aswell
The thing about enforcing rules is, you don't need law enforcement when the public will shame you when you do something wrong, or there is an overarching knowledge to generally not break road rules for fear of public tutting/disapproval. Basically, you don't want to have the idea of someone glaring at your mistakes in Ireland. For some reason the thought of that is more terrifying than a fine.
When driving on a motorway, drive in the left lane and overtake in the right lane, otherwise you're holding everyone else up. There's no need for police speed traps. There are vans parked on the road side with speed cameras in them.
@@memisemyself I'm in lane 1 on cruise at 110mph. A car on my outside slowly passing me after a few secs he eases off the pedal. He gets in line with me and changes into my lane and collides with me. Who is at fault? Scenario 2 Same situation but this time when he gets in line with me I move a few feet in front of him where I'm in clear view to him. He changes into my lane and collides. Who is at fault? There is no law on Overtaking on left on motorways in Rep of Ireland. If you can find it will you send it to me?
@@Seanmcdhuibhne Lane 1 is the left lane, so in both scenarios you are being overtaken on the right. Perfectly legal. Read the rules of the road. It's illegal to overtake on the left except in exceptional circumstances. In free flowing traffic you can't and most insurance companies won't cover you if you do. Drive on the left, overtake on the right is the basic rule on Irish roads. If you don't know that, you're not a good driver. By the way, if you're doing 110 mph on any Irish road you're breaking the law too. That's 176 Kph, the maximum speed limit is 120 Kph.
@Cabrones cabron I visited Ireland 2 years ago during the first 2 weeks of September. It was warm enough to wear shorts most of the time. Plan to go in the summer next year and you'll be fine. If you're there in the summer, wear shorts but keep a sweatshirt handy. They give you strange looks when you wear a raincoat. No one wears a raincoat in Ireland except tourists! The real rainy season is coming after October. The rain comes and goes very quickly. You think your going to have a rainy day then it all blows away and it's sunny. For us, driving was the way to go. We circled Ireland and Northern Ireland over 2 weeks and stayed in B&Bs. We saw so many beautiful places. If you are an experienced driver, it is not that difficult. You just need to really pay attention to what you're doing and be very careful on the traffic circles. They are everywhere. What I did not like was the very narrow roads out in the countryside. Some of them are barely big enough for 1 car, but passing another car on these roads was a real challenge. You can avoid these by staying on the highways though. I can't recommend visiting this Country enough. It was so beautiful and the people were incredibly friendly.
@Cabrones cabron Hi from Ireland, we are a damp country but no too cold at all , frost and ice maybe 10 times a year , rain a lot even in summer and snow maybe every other year. Driving is safe except major cities. 🇮🇪💚
Austin Gentleman these letters are displayed on the car windscreen N = novice driver... They have passed their driving test but are still new to driving... L = Learner driver not passed their test yet... Yep we let unqualified people drive around its fun on Irish roads...
No, we don't let unqualified people drive (unless you count tourists) alone - learner drivers have to be accompanied by a qualified driver who has passed their test.
Western Ireland is tough, some narrow roads with stone walls on both sides of road, you can feel like you are in a video game. And curvy, so you have to pay attention to whats ahead so that you can be prepared as to whether it curves right, left, whether it looks banked, etc. But you get used to it. Coming out of Shannon airport there will be one or two roundabouts and of course you go to the left of them, circle clockwise. Again, you get used to this quickly. Easier driving up in Connemara, as you can pull off road easier (no stone walls - but watch out for sheep and their lambs which wander all over the place). Also, it is more taxing driving on Irish roads than in the U.S. After a tiring trans-Atlantic flight, I would suggest just drive a modest distance first day to get acclimated.. A hundred kilometers on Irish roads will take more out of you than a hundred kilometers on a U.S. road (generally speaking).
We have undercover speed vans, undercover cars that check taxes and speed cameras as well as marked Gardaí cars, just because they aren't visible don't be complacent.
Spotted a couple of errors. 1. You should normally be driving on the inside lane of a double lane road (i.e. the left lane). This is also true when driving on through a roundabout. Then you don;'t have to check inside cars with your left wing mirror. The outside lane (right lane) is for over taking. 2. Your wing mirrors are mainly for spotting motorcyclists, and cyclists in slow traffic, overtaking you. Also used for reversing of course.
If only Irish drivers took advice from this! I see them on my commute to school, parking on sidewalks, double parking, arse end of the car sticking out on the road haha
Instead of yellow lines separating oncoming lanes, they have the same as the UK, what are called Cats Eyes light reflectors. These are much better than the American yellow lines for night driving.
Rent your car from the airport. You’ll avoid the city traffic and get out on the motorway to your destination quicker and easier. And depending on the time difference to home, make sure you are over your jet lag before getting a car.
For a few hundred you can get a Garmin with International maps etc and the higher end ones will re-route you around traffic jams ---- That came in real handy last time we were in Holland -- When driving in a country like Ireland, Japan etc -- easy to remember the driver is in the middle of the road (works for Irish driving in the US or other EU countries
Good video man. Ireland is still a pretty laid back, peaceful country so seeing lots of cops around is rare. But there is a lot of hidden speed cameras on the roads.
Use the rule when u are driving, you as the driver should be in the middle of the road . also continuous white lines you can't over take . broken white lines you can overtake when safe to do so . Another one to remember you can't turn on a pedestrian light when lights are red as you would in states in the US ... you won't see that many cops but they are around . a private company does random speed checks anywhere where there's a camera sign . You won't be stopped but will just get nice fines in the post.
M= Motorway
N= National Road
R= Regional Road
Thanks Sam!
We have a song about the N17:
ua-cam.com/video/32-WdYOeJLk/v-deo.html&ab_channel=sawdoctorsofficial
also 05:54, you passed the Millennium Park in the village I grew up, Freshford!
OceanBlue Nope! The U.K have a very different road system to Ireland, the road layouts in Ireland are decided by the Irish Government
You haven't a clue OceanBlue. Check the traffic light order and see if they're the same.
This was so helpful. I am going at the end of April and not going to lie, I am pretty nervous about driving there. You give great tips!
You should be travelling on the inside lane on the motorway ie the left lane, the outside lane is for overtaking. On a roundabout left lane for turning left and straight, right lane for turning right and always yield to the right.
Not always, you need to read the road markings and signs
Very good video - I'm a former driving instructor and live on the West cost of Ireland....!
A few tips for you that will also help....!
Approaching roundabout - check the signs on approach for your exit - treat it as a clock face - if your exit is on the left or straight ahead you should approach in the left lane - if your exit is on the right of 12 o'clock approach on the right - check road for lane arrows to correspond with your exit - Signal right if your exit is on the right - left if it is on the left - no signal for straight ahead - but always signal left when you pass the last exit before yours - always give way to traffic from the right on approach - unless roundabout is controlled by lights....!
White lines - Double white do not cross or overtake - Single solid white mine also means it's not safe to overtake and found often on rural roads...! - Broken white lines - overtaking allowed - if it is safe to do so - longer gaps means less hazardous stretch for overtaking - shorter gaps mean more hazardous for overtaking....!
General driving - drive on the left unless you are overtaking or turning right - on roads with more than one lane - the right is for overtaking - once you have completed overtake return to the left lane....!
1:52 Keep to the left, unless you are passing another vehicle on their right. On motorways, with 3 lanes in each direction, there are no 'fast' or 'slow' lanes- keep to the left as much as possible.
Awesome video, guys👍. I'm a Canadian just about to pick up my rental vehicle in Dublin to start our road trip across the republic and I've watched your video few times to alleviate my anxiety.
I'm from Northern Ireland and I drove through Dublin a long time ago and it scared the living daylights out of me. You are a brave man doing it as an American and having to drive on the left and change to a different side to drive the car. Bravo.
Yes agree 100 %
Its absolutely terrifying
And going down the country to all the other cities
Omg you have to have your senses about you
I have a brother who drives like a lunatic
This is the reason so many people are killed on the roads in Ireland
I don't if it has changed now
I am going back about 20 years
As an Irish person, I can say that this is all solid advice, and fair. Only thing is, traffic enforcement is often done by unmarked cars (looks like a civilian vehicle but has concealed blue lights). So you won't ever notice them unless they are pulling someone over. Also speeding is policed by automated camera systems in vans (usually concealed from view until it's too late) or mounted on bridges etc. If you are in a rental, the speeding ticket will be waiting for you when you drop off and you will still never have seen a police car (Police are called Gardaí). Parking varies from town to town. Many towns have wardens who are very quick to hunt down and ticket illegally parked cars. In more rural villages, you may get away with bad parking but in the larger cities, you have an extremely high chance of being clamped or towed away. Irish people generally drive carefully, always wear seatbelts and never under the influence because the penalties are severe (both monetary and via penalty points), and due to the effect of having penalty points on insurance costs. I think that you've made assumptions about policing because you didn't see marked cars anywhere, but if you are a visitor, don't ruin your stay by being fined because you thought there was a casual attitude.
Very well said!
Thank You. Very helpful, practical info and tips. I'm traveling to Ireland next month and will my first time to drive on the left, so nervous!
Some friendly advice!
Like many American tourists, I see that you are driving in the overtaking lane on the motorway (what you call Highway) even when you are not overtaking. To avoid being the victim of some serious road rage, pull into the inside lane when not overtaking!! Also, it's illegal and you can be fined for this.
I think he must have got the message by now, I've lost count of the number of similar comments (see above)
Probably one of the best videos to prepare for driving in Ireland. The tip at 3:21 was the most helpful one of all.
God Bless Ireland and its people for ever
God bless you Jorge!🍻
Awe. ❤️❤️
Thank you! This was very informative especially for safety. I have driven in Ireland before but it's been about 25 years - so this was a nice 'refresher' before I leave! ☘☘☘
Tip1: If you cant thank a driver for yielding you because you are driving away from them, or simply going the opposite direction, toggle your hazards on for a few seconds then off. This will let the other driver know you're thanking them from a distance.
Tip2: In a roundabout, if cars are waiting to enter the roundabout, but you are going to drive past them instead of taking the exit, sometimes especially on big roundabouts with multiple exits, it is common to turn the blinker facing the roundabout's center as in a way to tell drivers you are not exiting the roundabout yet.
Same as you should ALWAYS use your blinkers to signal that you intend to exit the roundabout.
Tip3: Because of narrow roads, especially on 2 way roads, truck drivers will sometimes stick to the left so you can see the incoming traffic, and even use a hand gesture telling you that it´s safe to overtake them.
Tip4: Some times pedestrians will not cross the road and yield cars with hand gestures, it is completely up to you to let them pass or not. In my opinion and following the traffic law, I always let them pass no matter what, as some times they indicate you can pass but another ped is crossing from the opposite side, and if you don't spot them you may run them over. (Especially kids)
Hope this helps, drive safe!
Get out of fast lane when not overtaking
No such thing as a fast lane. Outside lanes are for overtaking. First rule of the road - drive on the left. That means move back to left-hand side of road as soon as possible after overtaking. If that's not practical -- because traffic in the inside lane is bunched up, for example, as it often is, illegally so -- then continue overtaking inside-lane traffic. Do not just drift in the outside lane.
The 'Fast Lane' - what is that???
On a 4 lane motorway, there are two lanes in any one direction - the traffic lane is on the left and the overtaking lane is on the right. On a 6 lane motorway, there are three lanes in any one direction - they are named from left to right, Lane 1, Lane 2 and Lane 3. Lane 1 is the traffic lane, Lane 2 is the first overtaking lane & Lane 3 is the second overtaking lane. If there's continuous slow traffic in Lane 1, you may remain in Lane 2 until Lane 1 becomes clear again thus allowing you to move back in while maintaining your speed. Lane 3 is for overtaking any slower vehicles in Lane 2 which happen to be overtaking even slower vehicles.
Please. It is also illegal to overtake on the left side (unless the car is turning right)
@@gezley100 everybody knows it as the fast lane and that it is for overtaking only, stop looking for petty shit you sad little man
@@RedKnight-fn6jr another fool looking for an argument everyone knows it as the fast lane and they also know its for overtaking
Simplest hint - The steering wheel is in the middle of the road. In me younger days I would go back and forth between Ireland, US, UK, France and that was the simplest way to get oriented.
I’d assume this video was for people renting a car in Ireland, not for people bringing their own car from the continent.
Thank you for posting this! Wife n I heading to Ireland next month, renting a car and setting of to see what we can see! A bit nervous in driving on opposite sides and your video took alot of the mystery out of it all-especially roundabouts.
Thanks again!
You're welcome! You'll be just fine. Some good comments below regarding not driving in the right lane unless to overtake will prove useful for you as well.
Great video. The mirror tip is good. I do that regardless of where I'm driving.
Always good to know your proximity to surroundings.
Psst, hogging the outside lane is frowned upon. You should aim to stay left most unless you're overtaking or the road is busy.
It's also illegal!
Super helpful! I'll be there in a few weeks and I'm doing all the driving for my family, and I've been super nervous. Thanks for the tip about what kind of gas to use!
I just spent 2 weeks in nw Ireland. There are also L roads. These were usually more narrow and winding. Driving around Ireland for 2 weeks was one of the best adventure’s I’ve ever been on.
Speeding is generally enforced by cameras and camera vans. The right lanes on the motorway are for overtaking, do not cruise on the right lanes.
Driving in Ireland + Jet Lag = Adventure. I actually enjoyed driving in Ireland, except for the super skinny, one-card roads we found. But even then, what an adventure. Great vid. We just subscribed!
What a lady and gentleman ! Well done you two
Very well explained ! Infact perfectly 👌
I'm irish, but live in uk
But seen how you've took the time to help the next tourist is what its all bout ! Ireland 🇮🇪 is such a butiful and wonderful place
I bet you all loved it !
Makes me proud to call it my home
Thanks for this video! I’m headed to Ireland in two weeks and was anxious about driving on the opposite side of the road, and driving A RHD car in manual. I haven’t driven a manual exclusively for about 10 years, so that part I am looking forward to, as I missing driving a manual.
Great information!
How did your driving a manual in Ireland go?
How did it go? Should I do it?
About to head over and your video has really put me at ease. Thanks!
Ireland is beautiful! Best tip for getting around in your rental car: rent THE TINIEST car you can! The jaw dropping beauty of the scenic routes is best enjoyed when you don't have to worry about squeezing your car between oncoming trucks & buses on one side and the ever present rock walls on the other. We were so happy when we rented a Camry sized auto-- until our side mirror broke away & soon after had a flat tire from trying to keep from being hit by an oncoming lorry -- then we wished we could have rented something MUCH much smaller. It would have been so much more fun in a tiny car!!
This was a helpful video for us, but the best advice we got on driving was from two cab drivers.
When turning always think "Short Left, Wide Right." As for keeping left always think "Passenger in the Ditch." Though they used another word for passenger. Other funny note. Many cars had a big "N" or a big "L" in the window. N for "new" driver, just got their license. Or "L" for Learner. Thanks for this video it really helped.
'N' for novice, newly passed driving test and under probation for two years. 'L' is leaner, for those on a provisional licence - such drivers are supposed to have fully qualified driver alongside. A rule that seems to be ignored by all! Beware of Nissan Micra and Toyota Yaris drivers with 'L' plates (which is to say - all of them!) who are entirely unsuited to driving...
Not staying left on the motorway? Maybe mention a blinker on roundabouts? I was there last week and two different Americans were killed trying to drive.
Other countries besides Ireland and the UK also drive on the left. Like Japan, Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and even some parts of the Caribbean.
Well done. On the motorway drive in the left lane - the right lane is just for overtaking and you will soon have some guy behind you wanting to get ahead. We have very few speed cops but they have franchised speeding out to a private company who will park their van in a gateway and try to nab you doing 40 in a 30 kilometer zone - usually on the edges of towns. However for rental cars I doubt if they would issue a ticket.
Great video and great tips. I'm definitely going to this with our guests. Thanks!
I'm planning a trip for me and my mom and I got way nervous about driving in Ireland. Thia helped so much, thank you!
Red lights mean stop,always. If you're turning left or right and your way is clear doesnt matter red is stop. Phone in your hand when your moving or stoped in traffic means a fine and ticket,just holding it and your done,but passengers are ok.seatbelts front and rear have it on or you're done again.under 18 no seatbelt and the driver gets done again for allowing it. Speed limits used to be a little relaxed but not now,over is over. And stay on the left or a head on is on the cards, n they hurt.
and the traffic lights are in front of the road crossing, not behind it, car and pedestrian light switch at diffrent times too..
Great info. I'm heading to ireland and this is exactly what I needed to help bolster my confidence on the roadway.
Australian here. I visited the UK back in 2018, never got to Ireland but I'm sure it's very similar. Had a car for three weeks and became very good at squeezing it through very tight spaces. Have also driven all over the US three times and on the last trip in 2015, almost had a head-on crash, for obvious reasons. Amazed that could happen after so much time on the RHS of the road. The lesson - NEVER let your guard down.
They are similar, I’m in the UK but have driven in Ireland many times, main difference is the mph vs kph thing.
You mean km/h or kmph(Indian subcontinent)?
great tips. add drive around airport fro half hour at beginning, controlled traffic, signs and mixed vehicles makes it easy area to practice!
The roads in your video were pretty wide. I was in County Wicklow on some dirt backroads much narrower and with farm equipment trying to get by. There is also very little margin for error with maybe 6 inches between an oncoming car and 6 inches from a stone wall on the passenger side. There were also tons of blind corners from hedges and walls. Those were pretty dicey at many places and made me far more nervous than any road I'd been on in the US.
biscuitNmusterd haha... Now THAT is Ireland lol...
this has eased me so much! Thank you! wish me luck
1:52 tut tut again. Stay in the left lane unless overtaking. No really ! Stay in the left lane.
Great video, we'll be there next month and will definitely use the mirror tips!
Just spent two months driving in Ireland and NI, and, believe me, they're enforcing the laws! I had a speed camera pick me up going 59 kph in a 50 kph zone (36 mph in a 30 mph zone). It cost me €80 plus the €30 that Avis charged me for giving the gardai my information. (Yes, Avis sucks and don't buy any supplementary insurance from Expedia, it is a scam). One advantage of getting the navigation unit is that it tells you when you're in a speed camera zone. Otherwise driving in Ireland is a blast! One last thing: yes, MNR roads as pinned below, also L roads (local), sometimes dirt or gravel, almost always narrow and twisty but they will get you where you need to go.
Daniel Craig had a great line in Layer Cake: 'Only stupid people believe the police are stupid'
Thanks for sharing - I will be relocating to Dublin this month ...
I live in Southern England, from where it's very easy to get to Northern France by car ferry or tunnel shuttle (or was until the idiocy of Brexit), so perhaps I had to master driving on the unfamiliar side of the road fairly early. But yeah, it's less tricky than you'd think it would be, I reckon. I've driven my own UK car in France, and rental cars, of the appropriate handedness, in Spain, the US, Canada and (on the left) Australia. What I've found is that driving on the familiar side is slightly lower in workload, but not all that much.
I've not actually driven in Ireland, but the differences between the RoI and the UK (though there are differences) are fairly minor, I think: distances in km, more stop signs, more North-American-style road signs; that's about it. So I assume it'd be OK.
Thank you for your very informative video about driving in Ireland. We are also Americans planning a trip to Ireland and will also be renting a car with manual transmission. I am freaked out about the rotaries/roundabouts so your explanation of them helped make them seem managable. I like the tip about positioning the mirrors also. Thanks for sharing part of your vacation with others to help calm the driving jitters!
kilgore trout you can rent automatics, so I don't see why you have to use a manual?!?! Some good tips in this video, Drive safe and enjoy your holiday, Fàilte go hÈireann.
The cost of renting a car with automatic transmission is cost-prohibitive, crazy expensive. I can drive manual transmission but it will take a bit of time getting used to the shifting with the left hand versus the right! I guess I am mostly concerned about those numerous rotaries and how to manuver around them from the left side of the road! Hopefully, they will be OK too with a bit of practice. Thank you for your message! We are so excited to be visiting your country!
kilgore trout ..don't worry about it you'll be grand , there's no j walking over here so if there's a gap in traffic we go for it...gets us into trouble when we go abroad😀
At 0:32, 1:51 and 2:04, you seem to be cruising in the right-hand lane without overtaking anyone. This is known as lanehogging and can be really annoying to other faster-moving traffic (I appreciate you may be doing the speed limit, but still). Unless overtaking or doing junctions, you should be in the left lane as the right lane is the lane for overtaking or the 'fast' lane, not the cruising lane. Hogging this lane only encourages undertaking which shouldn't happen and is dangerous
The Yanks, bless them, simply do not have a clue how to use multi-lane roads properly including motorways.
@@Patmofar we have the same rules in the US. The left lane is the fast lane and for passing per our instruction when we get our license. Americans just don't follow the rules after they get their license. It's super annoying.
@@Patmofar You're clueless. We have the same thing in the US.
I am leaving soon for three weeks in Ireland by myself, driving and mainly car camping around the country. I am happy I've planned my Dublin days up front, without the car. It'll give me a chance to adjust. Then I'll go back to airport, pick up the vehicle and drive southwest, not returning to Dublin city at all, but returning the car and flying home same day. This video was excellent.
Titus O'Brien how was the driving there renting a car only driver and nervous?
And this is the reason why our driving test is quite difficult. Many take a few times to pass because you need to show you can be vigilant at all times. One thing you haven't mentioned is that our parking spaces will be much smaller than yours so you have to know how to park precisely. Also I dunno how you haven't seen many Gardai out unless you're missing the speed vans, the cameras and the checkpoints. There is huge clampdown on learner drivers driving on their own and being from Dublin myself, I have experienced them regularly, thankfully I have a full license. They often set up checkpoints to breathalyze at night time or early morning. Your left hand side mirror is more for changing lanes or turning left, checking there isn't another vehicle, cyclist or motorist there when you choose to move - not so much for your road positioning! That is really serious because you might hear a motorbike or a car but you won't hear a cyclist and they really need to be minded.
thank you so much! we are heading to Ireland soon and have watched this a few times as our guide to driving! I am soooo scared to crash!!! Thanks for the tips!!!
You'll be fine! Have a great time!
Also, read some of the comments below, such as not to drive in the right lane if you're not passing. Some helpful stuff from the Irish here!
Done well, although just a hint, at 1:52 if there is no traffic in the left hand lane on dual carriageway and motorways you should be traveling in that lane, otherwise you will have somebody drive up behind you flashing for you to move over so they can overtake as undertaking is illegal here :)
Undertaking is NOT illegal on Irish motorways as there is no legal definition of " slow moving traffic", in the Road Traffic Act. Also legal on all multilane roads, single or duel carriageways in UK.
Not strickly illegal BUT there's nothing more frustrating than a lane hogger:www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/undertaking/
@@Seanmcdhuibhne 100% illegal to overtake on the left. Few exceptions - if you are taking next left turn, if vehicle in front is turning right, in slow (and it is interpreted as very slow) traffic if your lane is moving faster than the outer lane.
@@harleydonski The advice at that link may apply in Northern Ireland but the .co.uk means it is United Kingdom based. www.rsa.ie/Documents/RotR%20BOOK%20for%20web%202019.pdf links to Ireland's Rules of the Road - a laymans interpretation of the Irish Road Traffic Acts.
@@vic_tim7956 Overtaking
Note, nowhere in the rule on Overtaking on left on motorways does it say you MUST NOT. As explaines at the Introduction the only words that make a rule mandatory are Must/Must Not.
Overtaking
Overtake only on the right, unless traffic is travelling in slow moving queues
and the traffic queue on your right is travelling more slowly than you are. If you
intend to move from a slower lane to a faster lane, adjust your speed first.
Before you start to overtake, remember ‘mirror, signal, mirror, manoeuvre’,
and look in your blind spots. Check that the way is clear (behind and ahead) and
signal well in advance.
Remember that traffic will be travelling a lot faster than on ordinary roads. Be
particularly careful at dusk, during darkness, and in poor weather conditions
when it is more difficult to judge speed, distance and stopping distance. Signal
and return to your original lane as soon as possible.
Also like to mention it is not illegal in UK that includes N.I on any road that has two lanes in same direction.
Your video is helpful. When I was your age I lived in Australia for 3+ years. It took me a whole year to be able to drive without constant concentration, 'keep left, keep left, keep left.' The quadruple roundabouts in England are a nightmare, looks like Ireland is easier.
I just booked my rental car for my trip in two weeks, I requested the bubble wrap car option.😬
I'm bringing duct tape just in case...
@MCMA-up5nc Welcome! You must be here as I post this... We haven’t had a ‘summer’ yet! The rain and wind from the remnants of hurricane Ernesto have swept through the West and now we have storm Lillian! Not great conditions for driving so please stay safe on the roads and enjoy some time in a cosy traditional pub beside the fire and hopefully with a trad session in the evening. Have a great trip!
💫💕😊
thank you!!! very helpful. I'm italian leaving tomorrow for scotland!!! 7 days. wish me luck!!! :)
It is possible that the custom of driving on the left dates back to pre-history and may later have been used as an early road safety measure. At a time when the main danger on the roads was mugging, careful travellers would pass on-coming strangers on the left with their sword arm towards the passer-by. The keep left rule did not become law in Britain until the increase in horse traffic made some sort of enforcement essential. Before this, the drivers of coaches leaving London for the country simply chose the firmest part of the road.
The main dates for the introduction of the legal requirement to keep left are: 1756 - London Bridge 1772 - Towns in Scotland 1835 - All roads in Great Britain and Ireland. In Europe, Pope Boniface VIII instructed pilgrims to keep to the left in the year 1300. Later, class distinction in France meant that aristocrats drove their carriages on the left side of the road forcing everybody else over to the centre or to the right-hand side. Keeping left had really only ever applied to riding or driving.
With the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and the subsequent declaration of the rights of man in 1791 many aristocrats decided to keep to the ‘poor side’ of the road so as not to draw attention to themselves. Keeping to the right of the road was also seen as a way of defying the earlier Papal decree. The subsequent Revolutionary wars and Napoleon’s European conquests led to the spread of driving on the right to Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. Napoleon ordered his armies to use the right-hand side of the road in order to avoid congestion during military manoeuvres. The nations that resisted invasion - Britain, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia and Portugal - generally kept to the left. The Netherlands changed to driving on the right in 1795, but Dutch colonies in the Far East ( Indonesia ) continued the old practices. Denmark had not been invaded by the French but changed in 1793. Russia did not switch until 1916. Czechoslovakia and Hungary were the last countries in mainland Europe to keep left, only changing to the right following invasion by Germany in the late 1930s. Portugal made the change from left to right in the 1920s; countries with border crossings found there was great confusion if drivers were required to change sides of the road when passing from country to country. Sweden remained on the left until 1967 and changed to the right following a lengthy road safety campaign. In Austria from 1805 to 1939 half the country drove on the left whilst the other half, the area that had been invaded by Napoleon, drove on the right! Most of the British Empire adopted the British custom of driving on the left although Egypt, which had been conquered by Napoleon, kept using the right after it became a British dependency. Pakistan considered changing from left to right in the 1960s,The main argument against was that camel trains often drove through the night while their drivers dozed,The difficulty in teaching old camels new tricks was a decisive factor in Pakistan rejecting the change.
Canada stayed on the left until the 1920s. During the American War of Independence, French liberal reformer General Lafayette gave advice to the revolutionary forces and spread the idea of driving on the right. The keep right rule was applied to the Pennsylvania turnpike in 1792, New York in 1804 and New Jersey in 1813. Bucking the normal trend, the Pacific island of Samoa made the switch from driving on the right to driving on the left side of the road on 7 September 2009. The official reason given was so as to fall in line with near neighbours Australia and New Zealand which, like Britain, still drive on the left.
SO helpful. I'll be leaving for Ireland for a few days - and I'll be driving for part of my trip, so THANK YOU for this!
How did the trip go LisaMarie?
@@dgoggin2k10 Oh, David. It was an EPIC trip that I'll carry with me for a long, long time! Thanks for asking! Can't wait to go back!
FYI dont stay in the right hand lane on a motorway. That is considered the overtaking lane. In Ireland it is illegal to undertake so traffic will not be able to get by you and it will cause A LOT of frustration to fellow drivers.
Always keep left unless you are overtaking
Thank you for the informative video. Good job. I always wondered how to do it. I wish I can do it soon and visit Dublin.
Thanks for this video cause I’m freaking out nervous 😂 wish me luck !!!
You don't have to be nervous I drove around half Japan and there is much much more traffic there than in Ireland
Yea but by God you have to be a mind reader to drive in Ireland, and just because you may have the right of way sometimes, it does not mean some drivers will give you the right of way,if people want u to get out of the way they will drive right up your arse to try and bully you even though you are doing the speed limit not all people but a lot.
I wanted to experience driving on the left so I chose the Cayman Islands to do so. Because Grand Cayman is so small, the roads are narrow and the speed limits are very low (35kph). I had trouble staying far enough to the left and when I made a turn I was tempted to enter the right side of the road (as in the U.S.). It helped to have my wife yell, "stay left" whenever I turned. I was beeped at with the horn several times when I was in the right lane (on the only four lane road there)and going too slow. In Grand Cayman the slow lane on a four lane road was the left lane. I learned quickly and it was a lot of fun.
Wasn't bad as I thought !! though I almost got hit leaving the Avis car rental in Dublin proper, right off the bat ..then my phone using Google maps as a GPS was acting up . Got a Sim card at Tesco cheap cheap data. So, roundabouts were very easy, made sense and I wonder why we don't have them. Highways M/N were easiet, makes sense. R /rural were the worst ! very narrow but still fast blind tight corners, walls on either side no shoulder....terrible...if you thought cops are chilled back in Ireland , go to Italy!!! But the Garda yes never saw them.
Very helpful video. Our next European trip will be Ireland. Thanks
Don’t forget about the “L” roads - aka Local Roads. These are really narrow (from the American perspective), have tons of blind curves, and often have folks out walking/jogging.
The hardest thing for me was getting used to hearing my wife screaming when I took curves at the same speed as the “native” drivers. :)
We called these “Oh, Jesus!” roads because that’s what we said every time we passed a car coming the other way. They usually followed rivers and streams, only had narrow or non-existent shoulder with no guard rails, and a 20-30’ drop onto rocks. Fun times.
Planning a trip with my ma to ireland. Fly into shannon and drive about, up to the north, then back down on east coast then back to shannon...just me and my mom..spiritual.journey, one last big memory of just us. My wife agrees we really need it..I am so excited
Alot of people have accidents on Irish roads be very careful please I know what I speak.❤
Great video , calmed me down about driving there! Thanks!
Pro tip: On a motorway you should always be in the left hand lane unless overtaking. It's not cool to cruise in the right hand lane even if you're driving the speed limit
Good luck getting people to that.It's the same here in NZ.
It’s the opposite sides in America or at least Washington state so I can get behind that. I’ll be in Dublin in 3 weeks
Something I've noticed, look out for a tendency to cut the corners on right hand bends if you're used to left hand drive. A really big thing is to please remember to look right a junctions, I know that sounds obvious but I personally have 3 different friends who've been clobbered by Americans quite innocently looking the wrong way and pulling out (one very serious accident too) We have the same prob driving on the continent, Generally we all get along fine on the roads around here, caution is a good thing down country, there may be a tractor/livestock/drunk folk in dark clothes at night and crappy visibility at night due to our wonderful climate! Take it handy and you'll be grand.
Great advice!
Not only look right at junctions, but left and right surely? Although I take your point, too many people RH and LH drivers just look one way when pulling out from a junction - so wrong!
Stay to the LEFT on motorways. Typical complaint from Irish drivers about American drivers? They hang in the right lane, driving slowly.
Irish drivers are just as guilty plus most Irish people are more understanding when it comes to tourists
That would apply to any driver from around the world except for drivers from former British colonies.
@@aheat3036 Well, yeah. Also except Japan.
Motorway driving skills in Ireland are generally bad
Petrol and diesel. Most modern cars and pumps for these have slightly different size nozzles so i helps to cut down the error. For example I was driving a Nissan Micra and tried to put diesel into it but the pump nozzle wouldnt fit into the car...so thats one way to help reduce the error...wont stop them all but is handy in some cases.
The American host uses the terms outside land and inside lane the opposite to what an Irish person would say. In Ireland the inside lane is the one nearest the side of the road... The Brits follow the same convention btw.
Also I note he seems to like the overtaking lane when you should stay to the left except when overtaking...
Thank you for the tips on better use of the side view mirrors. I have driven in Ireland before, and in fact destroyed two tires because I got too close to the ditch. Going back in August, and will definitely use your advice. Thanks and God bless.
Keep between the ditches as we say in Ireland, when it comes to Gardai, they do enforce strict driving regulations so don't be fooled by saying they're no Gardai, they'll be there when u least expect it
Great video. The mirror tip was two thumbs up.
Please mention getting insurance for the rental car. We may be going in a few months and I don't want any surprises when we get to the car rental counter. Would like to just pay and go.
I just got back few days ago, I wish I watched this before I left but I got to say that it was really fun to drive on the left side and I found it to be really easy 🇨🇮 I also did the same with the mirror, it helped a lot! The roads were so tight at time and on the roads that marked as R there are no side walks for pedestrians, so sometimes you will see people walking on the road. Also people don’t follow the speed limits, no matter speed I drove there were people tailgating me.
Murat D that’s the Ivory Coast flag (🇨🇮) the Irish one is backwards to that (🇮🇪)
Go to Cornwall in England! Many roads are so narrow you’ll scrape both mirrors at the same time 😳😂
I just got back from an Ireland vacation. I rented a car and actually did quite a bit of driving and it really wasn't that bad. You'll definitely want to pay a little extra for the GPS and if you plan on driving on the wild Atlantic way you'll want to pay a little extra for the full insurance coverage. The roads are narrow and we had quite a few tiny scratches along the side of our car from the shrubs and brush on the side of the road. It's pretty much unavoidable.
I think it’s wrong that you say there is no police monitoring. For speeding we don’t get pulled over as such like the USA. There are anonymous speed cameras and if a car exceeds the speed limited, a photo is taken and then the driver get the fine in the post and penalty points on their drivers license. We get pulled over randomly for breathalyzer tests and these are more frequent in December coming up to Christmas. The whole motorway will be shut and each driver one by one will be tested. So the police tend to check everyone and not just one person to make it fair. That relates to drinking and speeding. We have zero tolorence on both
Oh My Gosh!! Thank you!! Going in May and it's the one thing that has been STRESSING me! I do feel better after watching this! :)
the black diesel fueling gun wont fit any petrol car tank hole, they have different thickness
That's helpful to prevent errors! Thanks.
Great Job! We visited twice and I drove with my best friend over 2000 miles total. We are returning this June for more exploring!
You really gave the people good advice!
Joesbabe Smith wow 2000 miles... U did a lot if driving considering how small our country is 300 miles wide 600 miles long..... Hope u have fun on your next visit
Please do not use the right hand lane for regular driving on motorways. Please use the left hand lane, lane 1. Only use the right hand lane when overtaking, or letting other road users merge onto the road, but only switch lanes for merging traffic when it is safe to do so.
thank you for this video. We are currently trying to plan a trip for ireland and this is one of the "sticklers" for me per se. My husband refuses to drive in Ireland and prefers a guided tour where we dont have to drive. however, its much more expensive to do it this way. I would end up doing the driving here. So this video does help somewhat with the anxiety over this.
On the motorway stick to the left unless you're overtaking.
I was about to ask a question about this, so thank you!
My daughter and I went to Scotland last year and after the first day of driving it was very easy to drive around ! Going through my first round about was interesting but fine. Thanks for posting.
monta w.Not necessarily the same .I know that they have passing points on narrow roads up there that we don't.Thats partly due to the planning laws because houses are built throughout the countryside in ireland and are set off the roads so you can pull in every few bungalows in scotland you can only build in villages or towns.The populations and areas are the same,but scotlands countryside is much emptier and quieter than ours. in ireland your much more likely to meet a car.I believe the single lane roadsa are wider up there aswell
The thing about enforcing rules is, you don't need law enforcement when the public will shame you when you do something wrong, or there is an overarching knowledge to generally not break road rules for fear of public tutting/disapproval.
Basically, you don't want to have the idea of someone glaring at your mistakes in Ireland. For some reason the thought of that is more terrifying than a fine.
This really helped to alleviate my driving fears. Leaving tomorrow, thank you!
Sandra Walker I’m heading over too, still a bit paranoid about driving
When driving on a motorway, drive in the left lane and overtake in the right lane, otherwise you're holding everyone else up.
There's no need for police speed traps. There are vans parked on the road side with speed cameras in them.
They hold idiots up. Idiots who will not overtake the hogger on inside.
@@Seanmcdhuibhne It's illegal to overtake on the inside, if it leads to an accident you are to blame and most insurance companies will not cover you.
@@memisemyself I'm in lane 1 on cruise at 110mph. A car on my outside slowly passing me after a few secs he eases off the pedal. He gets in line with me and changes into my lane and collides with me. Who is at fault?
Scenario 2 Same situation but this time when he gets in line with me I move a few feet in front of him where I'm in clear view to him. He changes into my lane and collides. Who is at fault?
There is no law on Overtaking on left on motorways in Rep of Ireland. If you can find it will you send it to me?
@@Seanmcdhuibhne Lane 1 is the left lane, so in both scenarios you are being overtaken on the right. Perfectly legal.
Read the rules of the road. It's illegal to overtake on the left except in exceptional circumstances. In free flowing traffic you can't and most insurance companies won't cover you if you do.
Drive on the left, overtake on the right is the basic rule on Irish roads. If you don't know that, you're not a good driver.
By the way, if you're doing 110 mph on any Irish road you're breaking the law too. That's 176 Kph, the maximum speed limit is 120 Kph.
What a beautiful country Ireland is. I can't wait to visit it again.
@Cabrones cabron I visited Ireland 2 years ago during the first 2 weeks of September. It was warm enough to wear shorts most of the time. Plan to go in the summer next year and you'll be fine. If you're there in the summer, wear shorts but keep a sweatshirt handy. They give you strange looks when you wear a raincoat. No one wears a raincoat in Ireland except tourists! The real rainy season is coming after October. The rain comes and goes very quickly. You think your going to have a rainy day then it all blows away and it's sunny. For us, driving was the way to go. We circled Ireland and Northern Ireland over 2 weeks and stayed in B&Bs. We saw so many beautiful places. If you are an experienced driver, it is not that difficult. You just need to really pay attention to what you're doing and be very careful on the traffic circles. They are everywhere. What I did not like was the very narrow roads out in the countryside. Some of them are barely big enough for 1 car, but passing another car on these roads was a real challenge. You can avoid these by staying on the highways though. I can't recommend visiting this Country enough. It was so beautiful and the people were incredibly friendly.
@Cabrones cabron Hi from Ireland, we are a damp country but no too cold at all , frost and ice maybe 10 times a year , rain a lot even in summer and snow maybe every other year.
Driving is safe except major cities. 🇮🇪💚
I've heard of N signs for new drivers. Maybe they should have T signs for tourist drivers?
Austin Gentleman these letters are displayed on the car windscreen N = novice driver... They have passed their driving test but are still new to driving... L = Learner driver not passed their test yet... Yep we let unqualified people drive around its fun on Irish roads...
Believe me, every Irish person knows how to recognise a rental car
No, we don't let unqualified people drive (unless you count tourists) alone - learner drivers have to be accompanied by a qualified driver who has passed their test.
Putting a sign on your car saying you're a tourist is a quick way of getting your car broken into
Western Ireland is tough, some narrow roads with stone walls on both sides of road, you can feel like you are in a video game. And curvy, so you have to pay attention to whats ahead so that you can be prepared as to whether it curves right, left, whether it looks banked, etc. But you get used to it.
Coming out of Shannon airport there will be one or two roundabouts and of course you go to the left of them, circle clockwise. Again, you get used to this quickly.
Easier driving up in Connemara, as you can pull off road easier (no stone walls - but watch out for sheep and their lambs which wander all over the place).
Also, it is more taxing driving on Irish roads than in the U.S. After a tiring trans-Atlantic flight, I would suggest just drive a modest distance first day to get acclimated.. A hundred kilometers on Irish roads will take more out of you than a hundred kilometers on a U.S. road (generally speaking).
We have undercover speed vans, undercover cars that check taxes and speed cameras as well as marked Gardaí cars, just because they aren't visible don't be complacent.
Spotted a couple of errors. 1. You should normally be driving on the inside lane of a double lane road (i.e. the left lane). This is also true when driving on through a roundabout. Then you don;'t have to check inside cars with your left wing mirror. The outside lane (right lane) is for over taking. 2. Your wing mirrors are mainly for spotting motorcyclists, and cyclists in slow traffic, overtaking you. Also used for reversing of course.
If only Irish drivers took advice from this! I see them on my commute to school, parking on sidewalks, double parking, arse end of the car sticking out on the road haha
Instead of yellow lines separating oncoming lanes, they have the same as the UK, what are called Cats Eyes light reflectors. These are much better than the American yellow lines for night driving.
Rent your car from the airport. You’ll avoid the city traffic and get out on the motorway to your destination quicker and easier. And depending on the time difference to home, make sure you are over your jet lag before getting a car.
For a few hundred you can get a Garmin with International maps etc and the higher end ones will re-route you around traffic jams ---- That came in real handy last time we were in Holland -- When driving in a country like Ireland, Japan etc -- easy to remember the driver is in the middle of the road (works for Irish driving in the US or other EU countries
Sue Rarick Why do they drive on the left side? Some people drive awful here in the US.
there is also an function in google maps to download maps and navigate offline, no need to throw money at rental car companies
Good video man. Ireland is still a pretty laid back, peaceful country so seeing lots of cops around is rare. But there is a lot of hidden speed cameras on the roads.
Oh, glad I didn't get any tickets from those!
Thanks for the heads up that there are no yellow center lanes. I'll be less freaked out when I go to Ireland this Fall/Winter. LOL
You must keep left on national roads
Thanks for the reassurance. I'm really worried about driving on the 'wrong' side of the road on my trip next summer!
You'll be totally fine! Good luck!
Use the rule when u are driving, you as the driver should be in the middle of the road . also continuous white lines you can't over take . broken white lines you can overtake when safe to do so . Another one to remember you can't turn on a pedestrian light when lights are red as you would in states in the US ...
you won't see that many cops but they are around . a private company does random speed checks anywhere where there's a camera sign . You won't be stopped but will just get nice fines in the post.