Roads and traffic

In Ireland, you drive on the left side of the road - the same as in the UK, Japan and Commonwealth countries such as Australia.

Rural roads are generally narrow, windy and have poor surfaces and poor drainage. When we were there, it was quite wet and we often had to cope with large puddles on the road.

On either side of the narrow pavement, there are usually bushes or walls that are very close to the road - making it even harder to navigate especially when you encounter a vehicle coming in the opposite direction. Furthermore, there are very few place to stop and pull over - either for a rest or to let other vehicles overtake or for safety reasons.

It follows that most rural roads don't have a footpath that allows pedestrians to walk anywhere but on the roadway. This means that you often encounter pedestrians in the middle of nowhere.

Strangely most of these pedestrians are stocky middle-aged women. I guess they must be out for some exercise. You wonder how they have survived in these conditions to reach middle age.

Cyclists are also a hazard - especially because of the narrow windy roads. We encountered numerous cyclists on popular tourist roads such as the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula. This was a particular safety hazard because of the steep cliffs and dangerous drops down to the sea below.


Generally Irish drivers seem to be sensible. Very few of them seem to speed. However on most of the roads, it would be foolhardy to travel at the sign-posted maximum speed.

I generally travelled much slower than sign-posted limit. For example, although the speed limit might have been 80 or 100 km/h, I felt it was usually only safe to drive at about 60 or 70 km/h and most other people seemed to be doing the same.