Straight answers to practical questions about driving, travelling, parking and getting around Northern Ireland.
No blanket ban on wearing headphones is stated in the Northern Ireland Highway Code, but drivers must stay alert and in proper control.
Yes, if eating or drinking causes you to drive without proper control or due care; eating itself is not a separately named blanket offence.
No. There is no blanket Northern Ireland rule requiring drivers to wear shoes, but they must remain in proper control of the vehicle.
Yes, you can submit a claim to the Department for Infrastructure, but payment is not automatic.
Move out of danger, photograph the vehicle, branch and location if safe, and notify your insurer. A claim against a landowner or roads authority is not automatic; legal responsibility depends on whether the risk should reasonably have been identified and dealt with.
Get to safety, preserve dash-cam footage and photographs, note the other vehicle if identifiable and report any ongoing road danger. Notify your insurer; recovering losses from another party depends on evidence linking the object and negligence to that vehicle.
Get everyone out, move well away from traffic and the vehicle, call emergency services and do not try to recover belongings if it puts you at risk. Notify your insurer once the immediate danger is controlled.
Stop safely, report dangerous damage urgently and make sure the relevant authority and your insurer are informed. Damage to public property can give rise to a recovery claim.
Seek appropriate medical attention, report the collision where required, preserve evidence and notify your insurer. Injury claims can involve separate legal and medical issues from the vehicle-damage claim.
Potentially. Your own insurer may respond depending on your cover, and Motor Insurers’ Bureau arrangements can apply to eligible uninsured-driver claims.
Yes. Genuine, unedited dash-cam footage can be useful evidence. Preserve the original file and provide it to police or your insurer when relevant.
Keep clear photographs of the defect and location, damage photos, repair invoices or estimates, the date and time, and any witness or recovery information.
You can submit a claim to the relevant road authority, but payment is not automatic. The outcome depends on the facts, evidence and whether legal liability can be established.
Stop only where it is safe, avoid approaching an injured wild animal, contact police if the animal is causing danger or there has been injury or significant obstruction, and notify your insurer about vehicle damage.
Stop safely, deal with any immediate danger and follow the legal reporting duties that apply to collisions involving certain animals, as well as notifying your insurer.
It depends on your insurance and the circumstances. Comprehensive cover may respond to accidental damage, while recovery from an animal owner would depend on whether there is a legal basis for holding them responsible.
Liability depends on the facts and negligence of those involved. Your insurer may initially deal with your vehicle and third-party property damage under the policy, then consider whether recovery from another responsible party is legally possible.
If nobody is injured and the vehicles are creating danger or obstruction, moving to a safe place can be sensible once key evidence is recorded, but follow police directions and do not move a vehicle where doing so would be unsafe or inappropriate.
If it is safe, photograph the vehicle positions, damage, road layout, signs, markings, weather, debris and any relevant hazards, and keep the original files.
Exchange factual information and cooperate with legal duties, but avoid making unnecessary admissions about legal liability at the roadside. Give an accurate account to police and insurers.
Get to safety, record the vehicle and witness information if possible, preserve dash-cam or CCTV evidence, report the incident to PSNI promptly and notify your insurer.
No. Not every minor damage-only collision requires police attendance, but you must still satisfy the legal duties to stop and exchange details and should report it where those duties cannot be completed or other reportable circumstances apply.
If the legal exchange-of-details requirements are not satisfied, or where injury and other reporting conditions apply, the collision should be reported to police without delay and within the legal time limit.
You should exchange your name, address, vehicle registration and, where relevant, the vehicle owner’s details with the other party. Insurance details are also useful and are commonly required by insurers.
A non-emergency road traffic incident can be reported to PSNI through its online reporting service or by calling 101 where appropriate.
Call 999 when dangerous driving is creating an immediate risk to life or serious harm, or a serious collision/emergency is happening now.
Report dangerous driving to PSNI using 999 for an immediate threat or emergency, or the non-emergency reporting channels for incidents that are no longer urgent.
Yes. If you have dash-cam footage of dangerous or careless driving, you can report the incident to PSNI and tell them that video evidence is available.
PSNI’s Fatal Five are speeding, drink or drug driving, careless driving, not wearing a seat belt, and using a mobile phone while driving.
You cannot repeatedly use a speed-awareness course for every offence; eligibility includes a previous-course restriction.
