Monday 10 June 2013

Driving on the Roads of Ireland & The Roads to Ireland Guide 2013

Who doesn't like travelling? One of the most important things we should prepare for our travel expeditions is transportation. It just makes perfect sense for us to do our homework before renting a car or setting ourselves for any kind of transportation we wish to take.

In line with this, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) in partnership with An Garda Síochána introduced the Roads to Ireland guide last June 4th, 2013. This is a guide launched for tourists that would provide information about vital road safety information to help tourists go out and about safely whether they may be walking, using a motorcycle, riding a bicycle or driving during their wonderful stay in the area.

This is a smart move considering that around 7 million tourists are expected to spend their time in Ireland in 2013. This campaign is rightfully part of the road safety campaign for visitors supported by Tourism Ireland. This guide can be easily downloaded from the RSA website. It is also available in 9 different languages to cater to the communicative needs of tourists.

Through data provided by An Garda Síochána, it was found out that a total of 56 tourists were involved in serious road accidents in Ireland between the period of 2009 to May 30th 2013. This guide will surely give a heads up to those who are planning to visit Ireland and make their stay in the country as safe as possible.

Tourist road safety signage should be a priority in terms of design and positioning. This will ensure that that the highest effective rate is achieved and proper assistance is given to the tourists. Through this campaign, road safety messages will be distributed and publicized through both offline and online channels. They will be placed in prominent places for easy viewing such as in the Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports, including the ports in Dublin and Rosslare. Online advertising will also include language support to facilitate engagement and encouragement for those planning to visit the country.

Now, if you are planning to rent a car in another country, it is best that you are made aware of what you should expect upon your arrival. Indistinguishable road signs and street signs are just some of initial challenges you should deal with. But with proper orientation and preparation, you will most likely enjoy the freedom and experience only driving can provide. Along with the Roads to Ireland guide you should download from the RSA website, here are 9 helpful tips that could help you enjoy driving to the fullest:

1. Get a hold of an International Driving Permit. Though they don’t look so official, many countries require you to have this booklet before you are allowed to rent a car.

2. Talk to you insurance provider and ask about what coverage you need. It is a common practice that the car rental company of your choice will offer you the most expensive insurance option, so be a step ahead and ask about what international coverage you may use provided by your car insurance and credit card company.

3. Do advanced research on basic road signs and rules in the country of your choice. This will save you loads of time and ultimately will save you from possible road penalties.

4. Consider getting or renting a GPS system. It would be even more awesome if it comes with your rental car. A word of caution, make sure that the GPS System speaks the language of your preference to avoid even more confusion.

5. If you are planning your driving routes, avoid old neighbourhoods as much as you can. You might find yourself traversing through narrow alleys sooner that you think.

6. Make sure what your rental car runs on; whether diesel or gas. This might prove to be costly if you make the wrong decision.

7. Check out your vehicle’s original registration and possibly a Hire Certificate before you take off.

8. Make sure that you have all the safety equipment and requirements you need in case something unexpected comes up.

9. Consider creating a travel file with the correct documentation

In fact on a number of occasion we have had requests for driving lessons in Dublin from tourists visiting Ireland so that they might better get used to driving in our country and on our side of the road. It's good to see some road users taking action to better the safety of themselves and other road users and if you are a tourist in Ireland and find that you are reading this article and are considering take some driving lessons to prepare for your Irish roadtrip feel free to contact us at the RSA Driving School and we will help you in anyway we can.

There you have it! These are just a few tips worthy to be followed when you decide to drive in another country. Safety must be your utmost priority; which you can only achieve through proper preparation and advanced thinking. As they say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”.


Good Luck on your travel endeavors!

2 comments:

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