Travel in Northern Ireland is very similar to the rest of the UK, Driving Licence and Insurance requirements are the same, as are traffic signs and rules of the road, speed limits etc.. Distances in Miles and speed limits in MPH.
There are few fixed speed cameras in Northern Ireland, SPECS are starting to appear in one or two places (Newry and Newtownards and on the road between Belfast and Bangor in Co. Down). The Police regularly have mobile and portable speed cameras in operation, usually on the busier roads and at proven accident spots or where speedlimits are in force for a reason.
The currency in Northern Ireland is Sterling (£) although each bank produces it's own design of notes, these will not be accepted generally in Great Britain, so make sure you don't take a load of them back across the Irish Sea, unless you're collecting them. The Northern Bank produces a plastic fiver, worth keeping as a curiosity if nothing else. Most GB bank cards will work for cash withdrawal in NI banks and building societies, as will Switch/Maestro/Cirrus cards for all purchases.
Republic of Ireland.
In the Republic of Ireland distances are in Km and speeds in Km/h. 50Km/h in built up areas and either 80Km/h or 100Km/h on open roads, the speed depending on the grade of the road. Other limits apply so as always, look out for the signs, generally they are prolific so no excuse there...
There are fixed cameras in the Republic, on the main roads and around the cities. the Garda Traffic Corp also operate throughout the country, often on open roads where the temptation is to "make good progress".
GPS based traffic camera warning devices are legal in NI, but I believe that in the Republic of Ireland possession of one is an offence, whether it's being used or not. Where this leaves GPS navigators with a camera overlay is very much a grey area. I've yet to hear of anyone having a problem in this respect but it's good to be aware of the potential problem.
Traffic signs in the Republic of Ireland are yellow diamonds for warning signs (like those in the United States), with symbols - mostly self explanatory.
"No Entry" is the one sign that causes confusion for visitors (one is pictured to the left).
Single white lines down the middle of the road generally mean the same as double white lines... don't cross them, you have been warned!
Some signs are in Irish. Most directional signs are bilingual.
Main roads are signified by "N", secondary routes are "R" and mostly anything else is an "L" although they often aren't signed.
The currency in the Republic of Ireland is the Euro. Most GB bank and building society cards will work for cash withdrawls when used at the main banks, note that a Switch card will not usually be accepted when paying for petrol or goods in shops. A Maestro or Cirrus card will be needed but even they are not universally accepted. Visa and Mastercard credit cards are widely accepted throughout the country.
Note that penalty points information is freely shared between the authorities in NI and GB so anything that happens here may be made available to DVLA, this is not the case at present in the Republic of Ireland... don't get too carried away though, as they will happily "keep" on file any points gathered in the Republic, just they can't physically add them to your licence. This will change in due course with harmonisation of driving licences throughout The EC
Breakdown cover and personal travel insurance is a must when travelling in the Republic as most UK based recovery services (AA, RAC, Green Flag etc.) won't come to your assistance unless you have extended cover that includes the Republic of Ireland. Having said that most folk from the North travel quite happily between the two countries blissfully unaware of the fact. At least from the North it's fairly easy to get someone with a trailer to go collect a bike - been there, done that...
Phones on any of the UK networks will work just the same in Northern Ireland, and on the same network. Coverage is mostly good but can be patchy in some rural and hilly areas.
In the Republic all phones will lock onto one of the available networks provided you have roaming enabled. Costs vary considerably depending on your service provider and which network you have selected. To call a UK number (including another UK mobile - even one in Ireland) prefix the normal number with +44 or 0044 and drop the first 0 of the number. To call an Irish number the prefix is +353 or 00353 and drop the first 0 of the number to be called.
To call emergency services in Northern Ireland use 999, Republic of Ireland uses 999 or 112.
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