Driver theory practice
Rules of the road: Ireland
Twenty-four questions on driving in Ireland. Which side, which signs, the speed limits that changed in 2025, the lower alcohol limit that applies to you as a professional driver, and which licences can be exchanged.
24 questions, about 20 minutes, and free. You get the right answer and the reason after every question.
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Revision
Every question and answer, written out
Read them, learn them, then come back and take the test.
The basics
In Ireland you drive on the:
The answer: left
Ireland drives on the left and overtakes on the right, the same as the UK and the opposite of most of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.
Speed limit signs in the Republic of Ireland are in:
The answer: kilometres per hour
The Republic uses km/h. Northern Ireland, a short drive away, uses mph. Watch for it at the border.
Signs
Warning signs in Ireland are usually:
The answer: yellow diamonds
Ireland uses yellow diamond-shaped warning signs. This is one of the biggest differences from the UK, which uses red-bordered triangles.
A circular sign with a red border is:
The answer: an order you must obey
Circular signs with a red border are regulatory. They tell you what you must or must not do.
Speed limits
The default speed limit on an Irish motorway is:
The answer: 120 km/h
The motorway default is 120 km/h unless a sign says otherwise.
Since February 2025 the default speed limit on a rural local road in Ireland is:
The answer: 60 km/h
It was cut from 80 km/h to 60 km/h on 7 February 2025. These are the narrow roads with the L prefix. If you learned the old figure, unlearn it.
The default speed limit in a built-up area in Ireland is:
The answer: 50 km/h
The built-up default is 50 km/h. Many urban areas are being reduced to 30 km/h, so read the signs.
The default limit on a regional road, the ones with an R number, is:
The answer: 80 km/h
Regional roads default to 80 km/h.
A goods vehicle over 3,500 kg is limited on a motorway to:
The answer: 90 km/h
Heavy goods vehicles are capped at 90 km/h on motorways and 80 km/h on other roads, whatever the sign says for cars.
Alcohol and drugs
For a professional driver in Ireland, the blood alcohol limit is:
The answer: 20 mg per 100 ml
Learner, novice and professional drivers are held to 20 mg per 100 ml of blood. Experienced drivers are at 50 mg. In practice, if you drive for a living, do not drink at all before driving.
Licences
A "novice" driver in Ireland is someone who:
The answer: is in the first two years after getting their first full licence
Novice drivers display N plates for two years after their first full licence and are held to the lower alcohol limit.
Your driving licence was issued in the Philippines. To drive in Ireland long term you:
The answer: must go through the Irish learning-to-drive process, starting with the theory test
The Philippines is not on the NDLS list of recognised states, so there is no straight exchange. You sit the theory test, get a learner permit, do essential driver training and sit the driving test. We arrange and support all of it.
Your driving licence was issued in South Africa. Under the NDLS rules you:
The answer: can exchange it for an Irish licence
South Africa is on the NDLS list of recognised states, so the licence can be exchanged. Check the current list on ndls.ie before you rely on it, because lists change.
Junctions
At a roundabout in Ireland you give way to traffic coming from your:
The answer: right
You give way to the right and travel clockwise. If you learned to drive on the right-hand side of the road, this is the opposite of what your hands want to do.
You are turning right at a roundabout with two lanes. You should normally approach in:
The answer: the right lane
Right turns are taken from the right-hand lane, signalling right on approach and left as you come off.
You are approaching a yellow box junction and your exit is not clear. You should:
The answer: stay out of it until your exit is clear
Never enter a yellow box unless your exit is clear, except when turning right and held up only by oncoming traffic.
Road markings
A continuous white line along the centre of the road means:
The answer: you must not cross it except in an emergency or to access a property
A continuous white line must not be crossed except in the limited cases the Rules of the Road set out.
Motorways
Who may not use an Irish motorway?
The answer: Learner permit holders
Learner permit holders are not allowed on motorways in Ireland. Nor are pedestrians, cyclists or slow vehicles.
The hard shoulder on a motorway is for:
The answer: emergencies and breakdowns
It is for emergencies. Using it to pass traffic is dangerous and an offence.
Vehicles and documents
A commercial vehicle in Ireland must pass which roadworthiness test?
The answer: The CVRT
Commercial vehicles take the CVRT. The NCT is for private cars and the MOT is the UK equivalent.
Behaviour
Using a hand-held mobile phone while driving is:
The answer: an offence
Holding a phone while driving is an offence. Being stopped in traffic does not make it legal.
You are the driver. Who is responsible for making sure passengers under 17 wear a seatbelt?
The answer: You, the driver
The driver is responsible for passengers under 17 being properly restrained.
You are involved in a collision where someone is injured. You must:
The answer: stop, remain at the scene and report it to the Gardai
Stop, stay, give your details and report it. Leaving the scene of an injury collision is a serious offence.
The emergency number in Ireland is:
The answer: 999 or 112
Both 999 and 112 work in Ireland, and 112 works across the EU.
What next
Ready to work, not just to practise?
Every role we have open right now, with the permit or sponsorship handled and nothing ever charged to you.
Oop poste
Every role open right now, with the trade, the country and what it pays. Nothing ever charged to you.
Your rights at work
What you are owed in Ireland and in the UK, in plain language, with the number of the body that enforces it. It applies whether you came through us or not.