Hazard awareness is one of the study areas behind the driver theory test in Ireland, where the car test asks 40 questions in 45 minutes and 35 correct answers pass. This lesson gives the rules, the law behind them and questions on this area. Source: Citizens Information, page edited 6 May 2026, checked on 15 September 2026.
By the Irish Mock Test teamFacts checked 15 September 2026How we check facts
Hazard awareness is about what you can and cannot see, and who is likely to be there: light, weather, time of day, road surface, pedestrians, cyclists and children near a school. Ireland has no clip-based hazard perception section, so the area is examined in writing like everything else. What the law sets out is when your lamps must be lit and who you must yield to.
The rules
Lighting-up hours run from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, and your headlamps must be lit while you drive during them.
The half hour at each end is what people forget, and side lamps, rear lamps and the number plate lighting belong to the same duty.
In daytime, when light or weather cuts visibility, your side and rear lamps must be lit, and your headlamps too where you need them to drive safely.
Rain, spray, fog and snow bring this rule into play long before dusk, and correctly placed fog lamps may stand in for headlamps in fog or falling snow.
Dip your headlamps in good time so that you do not dazzle anyone, in particular when you meet oncoming traffic or follow closely behind another vehicle.
Dazzle is a hazard you create for somebody else, and the article names the driver in front of you too.
3 questions on the rules above before you read on.
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Question 1
You are walking along a road that has no footpath. Where should you walk?
AAs near as possible to the right-hand edge of the roadCorrect answer
BOn the left so that traffic comes from behind you
CIn the middle of the lane so drivers can see you
DOn whichever side has more light
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: A
Where there is a footpath you must use it. Where there is none, pedestrians keep as near as possible to the right-hand edge of the road, facing oncoming traffic. Article 46(4) of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 does not put you on the left, in the middle, or on the brighter side.
You want to stop in a cycle track to collect a takeaway. What does the law require?
AYou may stop for up to 30 minutes with hazard lights on
BYou may stop if you stay in the vehicle
CYou may stop for 10 minutes
DYou must not park in the cycle trackCorrect answer
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: D
Parking in a with-flow, contra-flow or shared cycle track is banned. The only exception is loading or unloading goods for up to 30 minutes where the right-hand edge is a broken white line, which collecting a takeaway is not. Article 36(2)(m) of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 does not allow a short stop, hazard lights, or sitting in the vehicle.
No clip-based hazard perception section appears in any description of the Irish theory test that we read, and the test is described as multiple choice questions with one answer ticked. Checked on 15 September 2026. Hazard awareness is a topic name, not a separate kind of test.
When do you have to turn your lights on in Ireland?
Half an hour after sunset, and again at any time of day when light or weather cuts visibility. Through lighting-up hours the side, rear and number plate lamps are part of the duty too, not the headlamps alone.
On the road
A wet winter afternoon through a village
The light is going and spray off other traffic is heavy, but sunset is half an hour away.
The daytime rule covers you instead: weather has cut visibility, so side and rear lamps go on, and headlamps too.
At the school a warden steps out with the stop sign, so you stop and hold there while the sign is shown.
Further on, somebody is standing at a zebra crossing waiting to step out. Waiting counts, so you yield.
The road beyond is signed as a cycle street, so you stay behind the cyclists ahead.
Where learners go wrong
Looking for a clip test. No description of the Irish theory test that we read sets out one.
Waiting for full darkness before switching on. Lighting-up hours begin half an hour after sunset, and poor daytime visibility triggers a separate rule.
Treating a zebra crossing as a stop sign, or as a courtesy. The duty is to yield, and a pedestrian waiting is owed it.
Answering an overtaking question with a clearance in metres. No minimum distance for passing a cyclist appears in the provisions read.
Calling a cycle track a cycle lane, or treating a cycle street as an ordinary road.
Choose an answer, then open the explanation to see the rule behind it.
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Question 1
You are in a shared zone. A pedestrian steps off the kerb in the middle of the street in front of you. What must you do?
ASound the horn because pedestrians must keep to the edges
BYield to the pedestrianCorrect answer
CContinue, because drivers have priority if they slow down
DContinue unless the pedestrian is at a marked crossing
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: B
In a shared zone pedestrians may step onto the road at any point, and drivers must yield to them. Article 45A of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997, inserted in October 2025, does not keep pedestrians to the edges or to marked crossings, and slowing down does not give you priority.
You are cycling and the cycle traffic lights show a flashing amber cycle symbol. A pedestrian has started to cross the cycle track. What must you do?
AGo on without stopping
BGo on only after yielding to the pedestrian already crossingCorrect answer
CThe flashing amber is only advisory
DThe flashing amber applies only to e-scooters
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: B
A flashing amber cycle symbol allows you to go on only after yielding to any pedestrian who has started to cross the road or the cycle track. Article 47B of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 does not make the flash a free go, an advisory lamp, or an e-scooter-only signal.
A cyclist is ahead on a narrow road and a van is coming the other way. What must you do?
AOvertake before the van arrives so you are not delayed
BOvertake, because slower riders must pull in for faster traffic
CDo not overtake if that would endanger or inconvenience the cyclistCorrect answer
DSound the horn and go past as the van approaches
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: C
Overtaking into the path of an oncoming van on a narrow road would put the cyclist at risk. Article 10(1) of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997, substituted in October 2025, forbids an overtake that would endanger or inconvenience a pedal cyclist, an e-moped user or an e-scooter user. Cyclists are not required to pull in for faster traffic.
A group of pedal cyclists is riding along a country road. How many may ride side by side?
AThree abreast on a wide road
BSingle file at all times
CNo more than two abreastCorrect answer
DAny number on a quiet road
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: C
Pedal cyclists and e-moped users must not ride more than two side by side, except while overtaking other cyclists or e-moped users where that does not endanger or obstruct anyone. Article 47 of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 does not require single file at all times, and it does not raise the limit on a wide or quiet road.
At 21:30 on a December evening you are driving on an unlit road during lighting-up hours. Which statement about headlamps is correct?
AThey are needed only when you meet other traffic
BThey may be left off if the rear lamps are lit
CThey must be lit while the vehicle is being drivenCorrect answer
DThey are required only above 50 km/h
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: C
Article 20(1)(b) of the 1963 Lighting Regulations requires lit headlamps whenever the vehicle is being driven during lighting-up hours. The rear lamps are a separate duty under article 20(1)(a).
You ride a bicycle on a public road during lighting-up hours. Which lamps must be lit?
AA white or yellow front lamp and a red rear lampCorrect answer
BA red front lamp and a white rear lamp
CA white front lamp with reflectors instead of a rear lamp
DLamps only when the road has no street lighting
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: A
The 1963 Lighting Regulations, article 29(1), (3), (4), require a lit white or yellow front lamp and a lit red rear lamp on a bicycle ridden during lighting-up hours.
This disc is shown facing you at roadworks. How long must you stay stopped?
AFor as long as the disc is shownCorrect answer
BUntil the road beyond looks empty
COnly until you draw level with the person holding it
DOnly if you are in a heavy vehicle
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: A
Under Regulation 32 of the Road Traffic (Traffic Signs) Regulations 2025, traffic must remain stopped so long as the STOP disc is exhibited. The duty is not lifted when the road beyond looks empty, when you reach the person, or because you are not in a heavy vehicle.
Who shows the STOP and GO discs at roadworks, and how?
AOnly a Garda, and no other person may show the discs
BAn authorised person, hand held or by a mechanical device that person controlsCorrect answer
CA timer set by the council, with no person in control of the discs
DA detector that turns the discs when a vehicle arrives at the works
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: B
Regulation 32 of the Road Traffic (Traffic Signs) Regulations 2025 provides that the discs may be exhibited, hand-held or by a mechanical device that is manually controlled, by an authorised person. The provision does not confine that to a Garda, and it does not put the discs on a council timer or a vehicle detector.
You need to turn into a driveway beside a cycle track that has a painted cycle symbol. What does the law allow?
ACross the cycle track to reach the drivewayCorrect answer
BNever cross the cycle track, even to reach a driveway
CCross only after sounding the horn to warn cyclists
DCross only outside rush hour
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: A
The ban on driving along or across a cycle track has an access exception: you may cross it to get to or from a place beside the track, such as a driveway. Article 14(5) of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 does not make that crossing conditional on an empty track or the time of day.
You are behind a slow cyclist on a cycle street. The road ahead is clear. What must you do?
AStay behind and do not overtake the cyclistCorrect answer
BOvertake if no traffic is coming
CSound the horn so the cyclist moves in
DOvertake if you stay below 30 km/h
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: A
On a cycle street, motorised vehicles must yield to people on pedal cycles, e-mopeds and e-scooters and must not overtake them, even when the road ahead looks clear. Article 14B of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997, inserted in October 2025, does not allow a horn, a low speed, or a gap in traffic as a way around that ban.
You are cycling and want to cross the road 8 metres from a parallel zebra crossing instead of using it. What does the law require?
ACross there if you yield to traffic
BCross there if you use the pedestrian stripes
CYou must get off and walk across at that point
DDo not cross within 15 metres except by the crossingCorrect answer
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: D
At a parallel or combined zebra crossing, a person on a pedal cycle, e-moped or e-scooter must cross in the cycle part (or in the combined crossing) and must not cross the road within 15 metres of it except by the crossing. Article 47C of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 does not require you to get off and walk, and 8 metres is inside that 15 metre band.
Thick fog sharply reduces how far ahead you can see. What does the legal speed rule require?
ASlow enough to stop within the clear distance visible aheadCorrect answer
BTravel at the limit if using lights
CRemain 10 km/h below the limit
DUse the same speed as traffic behind you
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: A
The Traffic and Parking Regulations 1997, article 7, require you to stop within the clear distance you can see. In fog that may mean well below the maximum limit.
Thick fog during daylight reduces visibility to night-time levels. Which lamps must you use?
ASide, rear and number plate lamps, plus headlamps where needed for safe drivingCorrect answer
BHazard warning lights instead of the vehicle lamps
CNo lamps until lighting-up hours begin
DOnly the side lamps unless you are on a motorway
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: A
The 1963 Lighting Regulations, article 20(2), require side, rear and number plate lamps in daytime visibility this poor, with headlamps where safe driving needs them.
You are on the footpath facing a red traffic light and want to cross. What does the law require?
ACross if the road looks clear
BDo not start to cross while the light facing you is redCorrect answer
CCross if vehicles have stopped in the other direction
DStart to cross and finish quickly if the light stays red
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: B
A pedestrian facing a red traffic light must not start to cross. Article 46(2) of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997 is a ban on setting off against red, not a gap-in-traffic rule or a race to finish before the light changes.
You are on a motorcycle and want to use a school street as a short cut during the times shown on the plate. What does the law require?
AYou may ride in slowly if no children are visible
BThe ban applies only to vehicles over 3,500 kg
CYou must not ride the motorcycle into the street during those timesCorrect answer
DThe ban applies only when a school warden is present
Show the answerHide the answer
Correct answer: C
During the hours on the plate, a motor vehicle, including a motorcycle, must not be driven into a school street. Article 45B(1) of the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997, inserted in October 2025, is not limited to heavy vehicles, to cars, or to times when a warden is on duty.
