Ciara Geraghty - Rules of the Road

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2019

Copyright © Ciara Geraghty 2019

Cover design by Claire Ward © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019

Cover illustration © Andrew Davidson/The Artworks

Chapter-heading lines taken from Rules of the Road RSA Rule Book © March 2015

Reprinted by permission of the Road Safety Authority

Ciara Geraghty asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008320676

Ebook Edition © May 2019 ISBN: 9780008320683

Version: 2019-12-23

For my mother, Breda

who gave me roots to grow.

And wings to fly.

Contents

Cover

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter 1: Signal your intent.

Chapter 2: You must always be aware of your speed and judge the appropriate speed for your vehicle.

Chapter 3: Don’t move from one traffic lane to another without good reason.

Chapter 4: Bumps on the road.

Chapter 5: You must not park in any way which interferes with the normal flow of traffic.

Chapter 6: If you are approaching a junction with a major road, you must yield.

Chapter 7: Before you start your journey, you should plan where you will stop to rest.

Chapter 8: Make sure your vehicle is roadworthy.

Chapter 9: Expect the unexpected.

Chapter 10: Be particularly careful of features that may hinder your view of the road ahead.

Chapter 11: Always check your blind spot.

Chapter 12: You should check your mirrors regularly to observe what is going on behind your vehicle.

Chapter 13: Never drive if you are fighting sleep.

Chapter 14: Detours should be clearly marked to aid the flow of traffic.

Chapter 15: If you are towing another vehicle, make sure the tow bar is strong enough.

Chapter 16: Before you start to manoeuvre, you must exercise due care and attention.

Chapter 17: Even with the best headlights, you can see less at night than during the day.

Chapter 18: It is advisable to drive your vehicle in a defensive manner. Be prepared to stop, sound the horn and brake.

Chapter 19: Tired drivers are a major road safety risk.

Chapter 20: If you approach a Stop sign, you must stop completely.

Chapter 21: You should always take the prevailing road conditions into account.

Chapter 22: Drivers are expected to have the ability to foresee and react to hazards.

Chapter 23: What to do if you are dazzled by another vehicle’s headlights: Slow down and stop if necessary.

Chapter 24: When approaching a toll, reduce your speed appropriately.

Chapter 25: Avoid using personal entertainment systems which can distract you, and may prove dangerous.

Chapter 26: If another driver is attempting to provoke you, don’t react.

Chapter 27: If you find yourself driving against the flow of traffic, pull in immediately to the hard shoulder and stop.

Chapter 28: Your vehicle must have mirrors fitted so that you always know what is behind and to each side.

Chapter 29: On the motorway, you must only drive ahead. No turning or reversing is permitted.

Chapter 30: Signal your intention to change course and pull in.

Chapter 31: Motor vehicles must be tested for their roadworthiness.

Chapter 32: Be alert in case the overtaking vehicle suddenly pulls back in front of you.

Chapter 33: Diverging traffic ahead.

Chapter 34: Yield right of way.

Epilogue

About the Author

Also by Ciara Geraghty

About the Publisher

Iris Armstrong is missing.

That is to say, she is not where she is supposed to be.

I am trying not to worry. After all, Iris is a grown woman and can take care of herself better than most.

It’s true to say that I am a worrier. Ask my girls. Ask my husband. They’ll tell you that I’d worry if I had nothing to worry about. Which is, of course, an exaggeration, although I suppose it’s true to say that, if I had nothing to worry about, I might feel that I had overlooked something.

Iris is the type of woman who tells you what she intends to do and then goes ahead and does it. Today is her birthday. Her fifty-eighth.

‘People see birthdays as an opportunity to tell women they look great for their age,’ Iris says when I suggested that we celebrate it.

It’s true that Iris looks great for her age. I don’t say that. Instead, I say, ‘We should celebrate nonetheless.’

‘I’ll celebrate by doing the swan. Or the downward-facing dog. Something animalistic,’ said Iris after she told me about the yoga retreat she had booked herself into.

‘But you hate yoga,’ I said.

‘I thought you’d be delighted. You’re always telling me how good yoga is for people with MS.’

My plan today was to visit Dad, then ring the yoga retreat in Wicklow to let them know I’m driving down with a birthday cake for Iris. So they’ll know it’s her birthday. Iris won’t want a fuss of course, but everyone should have cake on their birthday.

But when I arrive at Sunnyside Nursing Home, my father is sitting in the reception area with one of the managers. On the floor beside his chair is his old suitcase, perhaps a little shabby around the edges now but functional all the same.

A week, the manager says. That’s how long it will take for the exterminators to do what they need to do, apparently. Vermin, he calls them, by which I presume he means rats, because if it was just mice, he’d say mice, wouldn’t he?

My father lives in a rat-infested old folk’s home where he colours in between the lines and loses at bingo and sings songs and waits for my mother to come back from the shops soon.

‘I can transfer your father to one of our other facilities, if you’d prefer,’ the manager offers.

‘No, I’ll take him,’ I say. It’s the least I can do. I thought I could look after him myself, at home, like my mother did for years. I thought I could cope. Six months I lasted. Before I had to put him into Sunnyside.

I put Dad’s suitcase into the boot beside the birthday cake. I’ve used blue icing for the sea, grey for the rocks where I’ve perched an icing-stick figure which is supposed to be Iris, who swims at High Rock every day of the year. Even in November. Even in February. She swims like it’s July. Every day. I think she’ll get a kick out of the cake. It took me ages to finish it. Much longer than the recipe book suggested. Brendan says it’s because I’m too careful. The cake does not look like it’s been made by someone who is too careful. There is a precarious slant to it, as if it’s been subjected to adverse weather conditions.