Motorcycle tests for scooter riders

HELPDESK: From T Murphy: With the current costs of motoring, I have noticed an increase in the use of scooters, particularly the smaller 50cc ones.

As a motorcyclist of several years it infuriates me that their crashes are classified as motorcycle incidents and the Garda office in Dublin Castle advised me that all two-wheeled vehicles get listed in crash reports as motorcycles.

Consequently, those of us who actually take a motorcycle test and have an awareness of what is required and expected as a driver of a two-wheeled vehicle pay the price in insurance. Is there any hope that compulsory basic training (CBT) will apply to those who drive 50cc scooters?

Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) for motorcyclists remains some way off but the plan is to apply it to all motorcycles, including 50cc mopeds.

A CBT pilot scheme is due to start this month and will run until the end of April. According to a spokesman for the Road Safety Authority, some 38 instructors nationwide will offer the syllabus as part of their basic training and an evaluation of that will be held after April 20th.

“All going well and depending on the feedback received plus any fine tuning required it is hoped that CBT will be rolled out nationwide over the summer,” he said.

As you state in your email, crash data for scooters is collated under the motorcycle category and there is no extra information gathered in terms of engine size or licence type.

However, while it skews the statistics for motorcycle crashes, insurance firms do keep more detailed records on claims and these would have more impact on your premiums.

From G Brook: I understood the new €200 car park levy was supposed to be in place by now. So where is it? It seems to have been trotted out during the Budget and then, in a fitting move, parked amid the greater financial turmoil.

That’s probably good in that it shows the Government is prioritising the banking crisis over punishing the falling number of us employed in the country, but it’s becoming a state of limbo.

While there is no firm date for introduction of the €200 parking levy as yet, the Minister for Finance has indicated that it will be put in place in the first half of this year. A spokesman for the Department of Finance says that the levy requires consultation with local authorities in the cities in question, and this is underway.

The levy will be introduced in Dublin first and will only involve the city centre; it will not apply in Dublin South, Fingal or Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. While it has yet to be confirmed, the likely implementation zone will be between the Royal and Grand Canals in Dublin.

The levy is not the only issue that should worry motorists. The Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, has confirmed that a congestion charge is also on the way.

The point of both charges is to incentivise us to use public transport, but they come at a time when they are cutting back on this.

From V McDonagh: I’m going to collect a 2003 VW Passat from Wales this weekend. I’ve read all the rules regarding registration and tax and the dealer there knew all about the forms and so on. However, he doesn’t know about NCT. When I asked a local mechanic, he said the recent MOT on the car over there will cover me. Is that correct?

No. Just as the UK doesn’t recognise the NCT, we don’t recognise the MOT. The NCT is due on the anniversary date of first registration in the country of origin. Your car is over four years old so it will need to be tested, regardless of whether it previously received an MOT.

You need to pay VRT, get your Vehicle Registration Certificate which will reference new Irish registration number, then get new registration plates fitted. After this, go to your nearest NCT centre with your certificate and have the vehicle input on the NCT Service database.