"Can I ask the tester…?" The test-day questions learners are afraid to ask.

Can I ask the tester to repeat an instruction?

This is the single most common worry we hear, and the answer comes straight from the tester's own script. The RSA's Standard Procedures tell every tester to say, before you move off: "I will tell you in good time when to turn left or right, otherwise follow the course of the road. If you have any doubts about my directions, ask me to repeat or clarify them." You are not bending a rule by asking. You are doing exactly what the tester invited you to do.

The same applies at the desk: the official wording for the Rules of the Road stage is "if you are unclear on any question just ask me to repeat the question."

Asking is not a fault. It is not noted, it does not irritate the tester, and it does not count against you. What can cost you is the alternative: guessing, hesitating mid-junction, or committing to a turn you were never asked to make. "Sorry, could you repeat that?" is all you need. Testers are also trained to give directions in a fixed pattern, where before what ("at the next junction, turn right"), and to add extra directions whenever confusion is possible.

What if I misunderstand and take a wrong turn?

Going a different way than the tester asked, whether you missed the turn or mixed up left and right, is not a fault in itself. The tester knows the area and simply redirects you back onto the route. It is a driving test, not a navigation test.

Two things to keep in mind:

• The wrong turn must still be driven properly. Mirrors, signal, position, observation. A safe, legal turn in the wrong direction costs you nothing. A last-second swerve to catch the "right" turn is exactly how a wrong turn becomes a Grade 3.
• Faults still count on the detour. Everything you do after the missed turn is marked as normal, even if that road was never part of the planned route.

If you realise you have already passed the junction: keep driving normally, ignore the missed turn, and wait for the next instruction. Never brake hard or force the manoeuvre.

This is not instructor folklore; it is written into the RSA's official marking guidelines: "Where an applicant inadvertently goes off the route, or misses a turn, a fault should not be recorded when it is done safely. However, any fault which occurs subsequently should be recorded." The tester simply records a short note about the diversion and carries on.

The same guidelines even cover misheard manoeuvres: a candidate who reverses along the right-hand kerb instead of the left because of a misunderstanding gets no fault. The tester clarifies what was asked and you go again.

Can I ask the tester questions during the drive?

Anything you need to carry out an instruction is fair game: "Which lane would you like me in?", "Second exit, was it?", "Just here, or further up?" Testers would much rather answer than watch you guess.

Practical requests are also fine, and the marking guidelines say they should be granted: asking to clear a fogged window, asking to adjust your mirrors before the reverse (the tester will even adjust their door mirror for you if asked), or asking for another attempt at the reverse if you end up badly out of position or traffic interferes. Be aware that any fault already committed before the retry still stands.

What the tester will not do is coach or comment. Questions like "How am I doing?" or "Was that OK?" get no answer on the road, and that is by design: the marking is explained at the desk afterwards, with the full fault breakdown.

Can I talk to myself while driving?

Quietly narrating your own drive, "mirror, signal, position… checking right… clear", is completely fine and is not marked. We actively teach commentary driving on lessons because it keeps your observation routines running when nerves try to shut them down.

Keep it a murmur rather than a monologue. You still need to hear every instruction, and the commentary should serve the driving, not replace it.

Why is the tester so quiet? Is that a bad sign?

No. Testers are trained to stay neutral: they direct you, they observe, they record. They do not chat, react to mistakes or give running feedback, so a silent passenger seat tells you absolutely nothing about your result. Plenty of learners drive 35 near-silent minutes convinced they are failing, then pass comfortably.

Can the radio be on during the test?

There is no line in the published RSA rules that bans the radio outright, but in practice the answer is simple: it should be off before the tester gets in, and if it is playing, you will be asked to turn it off.

The reason is practical. The entire drive runs on spoken instructions, and mishearing one because of the radio creates exactly the guessing situations described above. Music also masks the sounds you are marked on reacting to: engine note, sirens, a cyclist's bell.

Same goes for your phone: silent or off, out of sight, and not connected over Bluetooth. A navigation prompt or ringtone through the speakers mid-test is a distraction you do not need. Our test-day checklist covers this and everything else worth doing before you leave the house.

Can I use the reversing camera or parking sensors?

If your car has a reversing camera or sensors, they can stay on. They are part of the vehicle and the Irish test does not require you to cover or disable them.

This one is settled in writing. The RSA's marking guidelines state, for both the reverse and the turnabout: "Use of video or audio devices whilst reversing is acceptable, if used in addition to the required observation." That last clause is the whole game.

The tester is marking direct observation, which the same guidelines define as checks "to the front, sides, and rear of the vehicle, including blind spots". Before and during the reverse, the tester expects to see your head and eyes doing that work: over the shoulder, through the rear window, in the mirrors, repeatedly. A glance at the camera to confirm what your eyes already told you is fine. Reversing with your eyes glued to the screen is an observation fault, and done throughout the manoeuvre it can fail it.

Treat the camera the way you treat a mirror: one more source of information, never the only one. And practise the manoeuvre without it, because the skill being tested is judging the car's position yourself.

What is not allowed: Park Assist. The marking guidelines ban self-parking systems outright ("The use of 'Park Assist' is not permitted"). The camera can inform you; the car cannot park itself.

One camera that must be OFF: the dashcam. The RSA's Standard Procedures are explicit here: dashcams and interior-facing cameras must be switched off or disabled before the test, including factory-fitted ones, and the tester may ask you to demonstrate that they are deactivated. So: reversing camera on, recording cameras off.

Can I use a sat nav?

The Irish test has no sat nav element (the UK test does, which is where the confusion usually comes from). The tester gives you every direction clearly and in good time. Take the sat nav, mount and cable out of the car before the test; loose gadgets and trailing wires make a poor first impression at the vehicle check.

Can I use the air conditioning, demisters or wipers?

Managing the car's secondary controls is part of driving, and it is literally in the test: before you move off, the tester asks you to operate three secondary controls from the RSA's official list, which includes the wipers, lights, washer, fan, air vents, rear window heater, air conditioner and temperature control. If the windscreen fogs up or the rain starts, deal with it promptly. Driving on with restricted vision because you were afraid to touch a control is the fault, not the other way around.

Is stalling the car a fail?

A single stall, recovered calmly, is normally a Grade 2 fault at most, and sometimes not even that. What turns a stall into a problem is the recovery: panicking, restarting without observation, rolling back, or stalling repeatedly at the same junction while traffic builds.

The routine to burn in: handbrake if needed, neutral, restart, mirrors and blind spot, move off. Ten calm seconds. One stall handled well can even read as composure. If you want the full picture of how faults add up, see how the test is marked.

What if an ambulance or fire engine comes up behind me?

Exactly what you should do on any drive: stay calm, check mirrors, indicate and pull in where it is safe and legal, then rejoin when clear. What you must not do is break the law to clear a path: running a red light, mounting a footpath or stopping in a dangerous position are all faults, emergency vehicle or not.

Testers see this situation regularly and mark how you handle it. A composed, legal response reflects well on you. We wrote a full guide on what to do around emergency vehicles.

Can I wear sunglasses during the test?

We went looking for this one in the RSA's official documents and came back empty: sunglasses are not mentioned anywhere, not in the tester procedures and not in the marking guidelines. Low sun on Irish roads is a genuine visibility problem, so ordinary sunglasses on a bright day are normal, sensible driving, and dealing with glare beats squinting through it.

Since there is no written rule, do the thing this whole page keeps recommending: ask. One sentence at the start ("the glare is bad today, alright if I wear my sunglasses?") settles it before you move off. Use common sense with the rest: take them off when the light drops, in shade or towards dusk, and skip very dark or mirrored lenses that cut into your peripheral vision. Prescription glasses are a different matter entirely: if you need them to drive, bring them and wear them.

Can my instructor or a friend come with me?

On the road it is just you and the tester. The RSA's Standard Procedures put it in one line: "No other person is allowed to accompany the applicant on test." Your instructor can bring you to the centre, wait, and go through the result with you afterwards, which we strongly recommend, but they cannot sit in on the drive.

Do not arrive with a child or a pet. They cannot come on the drive, RSA staff are not allowed to mind them, and if there is no one to stay with them the test is simply not conducted and you reapply. A person aged 16 or over can wait in the waiting room.

If English is not your first language: you may bring an interpreter for the first part of the test, the Rules of the Road questions and technical checks at the desk. The interpreter cannot come on the practical drive, and they cannot be your driving instructor. You can also choose to sit the whole test through Irish.

The person in the back seat: occasionally an RSA supervisor accompanies a test. They are auditing the tester's work, not yours. Your drive is marked exactly the same way; pretend they are not there.