Traffic laws
What the exam tests
Iraqi traffic law is built on Law No. 86 of 2004 (as amended) and administered by the General Traffic Directorate. The theory test checks that you know the duties attached to the driver, the vehicle and the journey, not just the signs.
Core rules
- Iraq drives on the right; the steering wheel is normally on the left.
- You must hold the correct licence class, carry it, and carry the vehicle registration (sanad) and valid insurance.
- Seat belts are compulsory for the driver and front passenger; children must be properly restrained.
- Hand-held mobile phone use is prohibited while moving.
- Obey police directions over all signals, signs and markings.
- A vehicle must be roadworthy: lights, brakes, tyres and mirrors.
- After a collision, stop, give details, and report to police where required.
Worked example
An officer at a checkpoint asks for your papers. You have a licence but left the registration at home. The correct answer is not 'the car is mine'. The registration is a separate document that must be carried; producing it later may reduce the penalty but does not cure the offence. Insurance must also be current.
Traps
Assuming a foreign licence is automatically valid; forgetting that the Kurdistan Region applies its own traffic administration alongside federal law; treating a licence as proof of ownership.