I honestly thought the day would never come. I finally passed in Raheny today. Test was 10:05. It was absolutely dead on the roads. Drive was beautiful. Tester was sound. He put the hazard lights on for me doing the reverse because a approaching car wouldn't move, told me not to drive so close to parked cars. I think he let me off a few things but licence is ordered.
I've done a mixture of Raheny, Fingal and killester.
Woohooo! I'm 35, I was petrified of learning to drive put it off for years, have been in two bad car accidents as a child, and here we are, didn't let the nerves get the better of me today 🥳
My top advice is to get the drive flow routes online and do the 7 routes in the 7 days leading up to the test. It made me very familiar with all the possible big junctions etc and it was all fresh in my mind. I didn't grow up around here and feel for my two previous tests myself and my partner were aimlessly driving around different roads and it was taking a long time and I was getting fatigued. Know the roads, know the theory, constant mirror checking and nail your maneuvers and you can manage any difficult situations that arise on the day.
I also think doing the test in summer helps, quieter roads, lovely weather and you can practice late in the evening and still have daylight for practicing manouvers. In my previous test I was practicing in the rain and dark (I work late hours).
My final nugget of wisdom, I made a mistake today and thought I failed but I kept driving to my best ability and stayed calm, don't let mistakes psyche you out, might only be a grade 2 mark so continue as you normally would and just ignore the tester, pretend you're alone in the car and focus on the road.
I’m incredibly frustrated and looking for some advice or just a place to vent.
I recently applied for my Irish driving license. For the proof of residency/legal entitlement part, I don’t have my physical IRP card yet. The Minister for Justice officially approved my immigration application over 8 weeks ago, but the actual card still hasn't arrived in the post and I can’t do anything.
Because I don't have the card, I uploaded the official Minister's approval letter as proof of my legal status in Ireland. NDLS just rejected my application because of it.
It feels like a massive bureaucratic loop. I legally have permission to be here, the government knows I have permission to be here, but because the printing and postage of the physical plastic card is taking forever, I’m stuck and can't get my license.
Has anyone else dealt with this specific issue? Will an NDLS center accept the approval letter plus proof of my address and passport if I book an in-person appointment, or am I completely stuck waiting for the card to show up in the mail?
Any advice on how to speed up the IRP delivery or bypass this with NDLS would be amazing. Thanks!
Hello, just applied for my licence at my local ndls centre in Carlow. I’m aware I’m not a licensed driver technically until I receive it physically by post. I’ve been hearing there’s printing problems, does anyone have a rough eta on how long it’s been taking to receive their licences ? I’m eager to start driving but I will abide by law I’m just an impatient person. My application says it’s already been approved probably because I did it in person rather than online, so yeah just wondering if I’ll be waiting long or not
hi!! pls help me out, i have my first driving test tmw and id love some last minute advice, tips, knowledge etc to calm me down and help me feel confident
a big thing id love to know is what signs and questions are most commonly asked at the start!
[Woodview]
Hi guys, with the back of the car facing backwards, and if the parallel parking spaces are empty, can I go across and exit at the stop sign? If there are cars parked in the parallel spaces, do I go around and exit to the right, is that correct? Thanks
Just wanted to double check, coming in and out the test cente its 15km/h, is it ok to drive this in 1st gear?
I've been practicing in 1st gear as I've a diesel car and it's so juddery and jumpy in second gear at 15km/h
Thank you!
Just practiced the reverse fifty times. Nailed 46 of them. If I mess up on the reverse tomorrow I'm buying a bicycle.
31M Learner's permit. D15. I’m hoping to find someone to join me for driving practice, not someone to teach me. I’m finding it hard to get enough practice because I don’t have anyone to go with. I’d rather not burden my friends with my driving woes.
Wasn’t easy. Failed first time in January rebook in March and then passed last week.
3rd time fail. My first two were a disaster but I couldn't believe this. I walked back into the test center all confident because it felt like a great drive. I was expecting 2 or 3 marks. When he told me I failed I was like WTF. I was fit to.....
I feel like this is harsh. I hate this cycle.
This post is to encourage you if you have failed your driving test multiple times and might be feeling discouraged. I failed 3 times by making a grade 3 mistake due to performance anxiety
. Also, the pressure
of how much was riding on getting this license e.g: better job opportunities, freedom to drive anywhere anytime and wanting to stop losing money. Overall I spent €1 502 on this goal.
That 'gears' mark is something that has never happened to me before in lessons or when driving accompanied, I'm saying it to show how much I was anxious. It actually happened that i didn't fully change to gear 2 when I took off on a roundabout to take the third exit, i quickly fixed and immediately thought I'd failed but i didn't allow it to stop me from practicing safe and competent driving for the rest of my test.
Anyone who has done their test with a red click insurance cert, what did you bring to to the test? I just have the page they sent me with the insurance disc, is this enough?
Passed yesterday, applied as soon as I passed, got approved pretty much straight away, I think this mean it’s issued? It says my learner permit is expired, it says my license is valid til 2036, but I don’t have the physical license yet
I’m sure anyone who has dealt with public services here knows the usual story: you apply, you wait, nobody really tells you much, and then somehow you’re the annoying one for asking what’s happening.
I passed my theory test on 21 May and applied for the learner permit the next day. Approved same day.
Still no licence. After a few weeks of chasing NDLS and RSA by email, phone, online forms, complaints, the whole lot, I was eventually told there was a broken printer and around 5,000 people were affected.
Fair enough, machines break. Annoying, but it happens.
But here’s the thing. No email to the affected people. No notice on the NDLS website that I could see. No update on the application tracker. Nothing. You only find out if you keep ringing them.
I was promised supervisor callbacks a few times. Didn’t happen. Then today, after more chasing, a supervisor finally rang me and said my licence had been posted on 23 June, returned to NDLS on 1 July, and posted again. Apparently An Post gave no reason. Again, nobody told me when it was returned.
So now I wait again.
I’ve contacted the Ombudsman and local TDs, not because I think I’m special or because I want compensation. I’ll get the licence eventually. But if a government service knows 5,000 people are stuck because of their own issue, surely they should tell people?
Do people just accept this now? Is this actually normal?
I passed my test on Tuesday, applied for my license and rsa has me down as a full license holder. Just waiting for the card in the post. Can I legally drive by myself as it says I’m a full license holder on rsa? My insurance is updated. Online is saying it’s legal but don’t want to risk it incase. Thanks
Actually can’t believe I’m writing this but I just passed this morning!!! Finally feeling brave enough to show my result from the first one swipe for a laugh 🤦🏼♀️😂 first one was September and I only had three lessons since then so feeling very justified that the tester didn’t like me but it doesn’t matter now anyway finally freeeee
Hi everyone, today I failed my driving test in Fingas. Honestly, I was sure I’d pass, but as they say - bad luck. I can say that the instructor was unfriendly and prejudiced toward everything - at least that’s how it seemed to me. Also, after the test, he very quickly and curtly went over my mistakes (I’m a foreigner, so I didn’t understand some of his answers), after which he politely sent me on my way. My instructor and I discussed my mistakes, but to be honest, I still don’t understand why the examiner would mark me down on some of them - for example, “react to hazards” (the term itself makes its meaning clear) - but I honestly don’t recall any dangerous situations that could have occurred during the test, at least not from what I remember. So I’m honestly very disappointed, especially since I have to wait another two months for my next attempt.