Am I allowed to drive by myself on a First Provisional...

dragonfly

....if I consider myself an adequate driver and have had enough practice to do so? I'm just wondering about this as it's quite difficult to have somebody available to sit with me in a car so that I can drive anywhere and also if the waiting time for a driving test is up to a year then does this mean that any first provisional drivers drive unaccompanied? Does anyone have a firm/definitive opinion on this please?

Gaz25

Yes that is the law and your not even ment drive on the second without someone as well. I would guess at least 80% of motorist are driving with a provisional licence.
Unless your driving a car from ( www.barryboys.co.uk ) then your unlikely to be stoped. I've being waiting since last december for my test, so i would go out and drive cause everyone else is, but just be careful not to speed and get cocky as its coming to x-mas there will probably be a few check points for drink driving etc.

Best of luck:)

The General

Gaz25 wrote:

Yes that is the law and your not even ment drive on the second without someone as well. I would guess at least 80% of motorist are driving with a provisional licence.
Unless your driving a car from ( www.barryboys.co.uk ) then your unlikely to be stoped. I've being waiting since last december for my test, so i would go out and drive cause everyone else is, but just be careful not to speed and get cocky as its coming to x-mas there will probably be a few check points for drink driving etc.

Best of luck:)

I asked a guard before about this, and he said when your on your 1st you need someone with you but when your on your 2nd you don't. Then when your on your 3rd 4th 5th....etc you need someone with you again

fjon

Gaz25 wrote:

Yes that is the law and your not even ment drive on the second without someone as well.

165,000 people in Ireland drive on provisionals - how many of those drive accompanied?
I think if you have had a bit of practice with someone who knows what they are doing (let's say a month's worth of driving?) and have applied for your test drive alone if you feel comfortable doing so.
You're breaking the law, but who doesn't? I read today 80% of drivers admit to speeding at some stage.
With the absolute mess the whole driving test system is in at the moment I say if you feel you are comfortable driving alone, do so.

JohnCleary

Simple legal answer: No

But tbh everyone's at it!

having just sat my theory test the information is fresh in my mind, you need a passenger with a full license when you're on your first, third and all subsequent provisional licenses, as is posted above.

Creamy Goodness

Deleted User wrote:

having just sat my theory test the information is fresh in my mind, you need a passenger with a full license when you're on your first, third and all subsequent provisional licenses, as is posted above.

so on your second provisional you don't need a fully licenced driver?

fjon

Cremo wrote:

so on your second provisional you don't need a fully licenced driver?

Correct. I don't understand why you need one on your 3rd though...

melekalikimaka

if ya dont have your full licence by the end of your second, your
a crap driver and failed your test

Creamy Goodness

melekalikimaka wrote:

if ya dont have your full licence by the end of your second, your
a crap driver and failed your test

lol i take it you haven't tried doing your test in wicklow.


does seem odd that you need someone on your third though, i can understand your first license but third?

i'm 100% sure that that's the law.
Don't ask why, it's best to just accept it!

zilog_jones

Yeah, the law's not supposed to make sense!

John R

Cremo wrote:

lol i take it you haven't tried doing your test in wicklow.

What difference does it make where you take your test?

Cremo wrote:

does seem odd that you need someone on your third though, i can understand your first license but third?

Because a provisional is to allow you to learn to drive so you can pass a test and be qualified to drive, in practically every other country the idea of people driving for years/decades without having passed a basic competency test is unheard of.

Rovi

I'm not sure if it works like this in the real world, but AFAIK you're not meant to be issued a third (or subsequent) provisional unless you've attempted the test and failed. If you passed, obviously you'd be getting a full licence.
Anyone that's managed to get through two provisionals without reaching the basic level of competence required to pass the test is going badly wrong somewhere and needs to go back to basics. Hence the accompanying fully licenced driver.


.

E@gle.

fjon wrote:

Correct. I don't understand why you need one on your 3rd though...

to get your third provisional you need to have done a drivng test and obvivously failed it to apply for your third provisional.

so the way they take it is that you have failed your driving test and are not a driver. load of crap imo

unkel

Rovi wrote:

you're not meant to be issued a third (or subsequent) provisional unless you've attempted the test and failed

Yep. Only in Ireland. If you have proven beyond a shadow of doubt that you are incapable of driving a car, you will be issued with a driving license :rolleyes:

Perhaps we should only allow people to drive that have passed a test?

Litcagral

You don't state which category you are referring to but I presume it is category 'B'. The reason you do not require an accompanied full licence holder for the second licence is to encourage as many people as possible to attempt to pass early on rather than continue on a provisional licence for years. The regulation that you be accompanied on third and subsequent licence is supposed to act as a deterrent.

As a first time learner you can legally drive on your own in categories A, A1, M and W.

luckat

Not only are people on a second Provo allowed to drive alone, but drivers are never re-tested. There just aren't enough testers.

I couldn't find anywhere with the criteria for the driving test online, but have an acquaintance who teaches people to drive, and he told me the test is now very fiddly. For instance, you'll be failed for gearing down without braking first - which would certainly nuke any chances I'd have, because I was taught that driving on your gears was safer, giving you more control, so I gear down much more often than braking.

Oh, wait, here they are:

http://oasis.gov.ie/transport/motoring/driver_theory_test.html

(that's the theory test)

There's a general piece on the practical test - just a paragraph or so - on the same site, but apparently there's a *lot* to it.

I failed a driving test because I didn't put on the handbrake at traffic lights - something it's illegal to do in parts of the US!

The actual rules on Provos are here:

http://oasis.gov.ie/transport/motoring/provisional_driving_licence.html

tk123

E@gle. wrote:

to get your third provisional you need to have done a drivng test and obvivously failed it to apply for your third provisional.

so the way they take it is that you have failed your driving test and are not a driver. load of crap imo

You need to have proof that you're either waiting for the test or have failed one. I got my first prov when I was 17 cos I could :rolleyes: and never learnt to drive properly, then I got a second one for ID when I was going to the States, then I had to apply for the test to get the third prov this year and I am only learning to drive on that one! :rolleyes: My test is in 3 weeks - instructor says i'll be fine but i think I'll prob fail!

Litcagral

luckat wrote:

"I was taught that driving on your gears was safer, giving you more control, so I gear down much more often than braking."

When I was learning to drive a truck I was told to remember the following:

"gears to go - brakes to slow".

luckat

Hmm, read a bit about the gears-to-go-brakes-to-slow concept and actually it sounds sensible.

Poor old Princess Di died when her driver tried to gear down to increase speed and got stuck in neutral, as far as I remember.

There doesn't seem to be any *advanced* driving test in Ireland - which would probably do more to improve general driving than anything else, because people would get all competitive about putting a sticker on their car to show they'd passed!

However, I found this in Norn Irn: http://www.advancedmotorists-ni.co.uk/

johnnyrotten

Q. Am I allowed to drive by myself on a First Provisional...

A. No.

Litcagral

Don't think your correct on the Princess Di story. The car was an S class Merc (S 320 ?) which is available in auto only. If the driver floored the pedal it would kick down two gears instantly.

luckat

Oh, that's odd! I remember reading that the car was in neutral, and there was conjecture that the driver had tried to gear down. In the inquest report, as far as I remember. Hmmm.

Litcagral

Gearbox in neutral or gearstick in neutral? There is a difference. It could have resulted from the impact or by driver unless he died instantly?.

luckat

I think the reports in the papers just said the car was in neutral.

http://www.iam.org.uk/Advancedtest/ for taking the Institute of Advanced Motorists advanced driving test - but unfortunately it's a British thing.

It would be a really good thing to bring in an Irish version, with a sticker for your car if you pass it. Make expertise in driving something to compete for.

Hotblack Desiato

Luckat, both IAM and RoSPA operate in the Republic. They're a lot more popular among motorcyclists than car drivers. RoSPA require 3-yearly retesting, IAM don't.

Seth Brundle

Cremo wrote:

lol i take it you haven't tried doing your test in wicklow.


does seem odd that you need someone on your third though, i can understand your first license but third?

you are looking at it the wrong way. The logic behind having someone experienced [and qualified] with you when on 1st & 3rd provisionals is fine. Its the logic of the unaccompanied allowance under the 2nd provisional that confuses me!

John R wrote:

What difference does it make where you take your test?

There shouldnt be any but seemingly there are big differences between some of the counties pass rates - Wicklow = 44.7% Vs Birr 64.7%
See www.drivingtest.ie/drivingtest/HTMLContent/passrates.html

PTL

if youve about 3-4 months left on your first provisional and loose it and report it would the next provisional be your second or just get another provisional till march-april 2006 again?

Capt'n Midnight

Learners here can drive home unaccompanied after failing a driving test if they are on their second provisional. People in other EU countries think this is madness.

But yet they feel "victimised" because they aren't allowed drive unaccompanied from day one or allowed drive on a motorway at 120kmph.

In every other EU country you aren't allowed out on your own unless you have passed a test. Up North even if you have passed a test there are restrictions for the first year like a top speed of 45mph. It's because drivers need to gain experiance whereas down here a learner can do 60mph day one. Also up North R plate conditions are enforced. ( IIRC R drivers are also banned from motorways, but I can't find a link on an official site )

http://www.dvlni.gov.uk/drivers/learndrive_Rplates.htm

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland
‘R’ Plate Rules

After passing the driving test for a motor car or motorcycle, you must display amber ‘R’ plates for a period of one year from the date of passing the test.

The plates MUST conform to legal specifications and MUST be clearly visible to others from in front of the vehicle and from behind. Plates should be removed or covered when not being driven by a restricted driver.

The maximum permitted speed for any vehicle displaying R plates is 45 mph, irrespective of whether or not the vehicle is being driven by a restricted driver.

Spitfire666

and you need L-plates no matter what provis licence.
The trick is not to look like a muppet and not seem to be getting smart when your stoped and you will get away with no full licenced driver being with you.
That bit of law is rarely inforced and is mainly used when the muppet with no tax starts to get smart and try lie his way out of getting a bollocking to "punish" him further.