Michael McAleer answers your questions
From K. Gallagher, Co Donegal: Satellite navigation systems have become increasingly popular and when sold in this country come preloaded with maps of Britain and Ireland.
However, in the Republic, maps for the rural roads are limited to N and R roads. This is in stark contrast to Northern Ireland where most of the minor roads are not only GPS mapped but also have the added advantage of being named. Street mapping in towns in this jurisdiction is also inferior when compared to similar-sized towns in the North.
I have heard it said that there are, to date, no detailed maps available for country roads in the Republic. If this is the case, then when will they become available?
Satellite navigation systems in Ireland have indeed been rather pathetic compared to our continental cousins for some time. Only two years ago I was guided through the foothills of Italy using a sat-nav system that could nearly pinpoint every cowshed on the hills.
Back home, many of the cars I drove back then - and even more recently - were fitted with sat-nav systems costing in excess of €2,000, but couldn't guide you outside the M50 ring without you seemingly entering no-man's land on the map system.
Things have improved dramatically of late, however and, according to one of the two main companies that provide maps to the car firms and manufacturers of the portable devices, Ireland has finally been mapped.
A spokesperson for Navtech told us this week that Ireland was finally finished at the end of last year and if you are buying a car with the latest mapping software, you should be able to find your way around even the most rural parts of Ireland. If you are buying a new car, be sure to ask that the latest software is installed.
For all the fancy gadgetry fitted on cars these days, sat-nav is one of the most practical and useful aids to drivers. Now the only problem is that we must wait for prices to fall so that they become standard features in even the most basic models. In the meantime, better value may be had from portable devices such as Garmin and the rest.
Either way, be sure to test any system out before buying it, to see if it really does feature that all-important boreen outside Leenane in Co Mayo.
From Maria Walsh:
We will be spending some time on the Continent during the summer and hiring a car while there. I am having trouble finding out whether my husband's two penalty points will have any bearing on renting a car, as we usually share the driving.
There is nothing on his licence to indicate that he has these points.
It will have no bearing whatsoever on the continent. Penalty points are non-transferable at the moment - and the way things work regarding EU traffic legislation that's the way it will be for some time.
He may be asked if he has ever been banned from driving, but if he previously had a clean licence then it is not a problem. Generally the rental firms are trying to ascertain what sort of a driver they are giving their car to. If you've been banned they may charge an extra fee or refuse a rental in extreme circumstances.
From Mark O'Sulivan:
Where can I get updated prices for cars?
Apart from the price list published in this edition, you can source the prices of cars through the websites for the various manufacturers or alternatively through the website of the Society for the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI). At simi.ie. on the homepage they offer a link through to the monthly recommended retail prices for cars. Of course, as the car industry will be quick to point out, these are only the suggested prices for new cars and they will differ greatly between dealers ... (ahem).
Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, D'Olier St, Dublin 2 - or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie