Miles to kilometres: David Langan, from Dublin, asks why do we have speed limits in miles and distance signs in kilometres? "Was there or is there any plans to have kilometre speed limits introduced?"
After inquiries from us, the official line from the Department of Transport is: "An appropriate structure is being worked on at present to address this issue."
We translate this to mean that we will, in due course, be going metric with our speed limits. How soon this happens would largely depend on funding, as it is not a small undertaking. One only has to consider the number of signposts on primary and secondary roads that have to be changed.
It would also require a very broad awareness campaign, for the safety aspect of the changeover is quite enormous. Consider the fact that motorway signs would read 120 rather than 70, while town signs would read 50 rather than 30, and so on. Those unaware of the changeover would be racing through towns, leaving pedestrians in their wake and turning our little motorway network into a racetrack.
Green for danger
We have had a number of letters of support for Joe McNally who last week raised a query about the dangers of green cars on our roads.
Rob Tanzer concurs with him on the difficulty in seeing green cars on verdant Irish country roads. A visitor to Belfast, he noticed Joe's letter about green cars and remembers, "some 20 years years ago I bought a Davrian Imp 2 seater sports car. It was exceptionally light, very quick, nimble and green.
"In the first year that I had the car I must had at least 3 potentially serious very near misses where other drivers apparently did not see me. Because it was a small glassfibre bodied car, there was very little protection in the event of an accident and I decided that my life was more important than having a traditional British Racing Green car. I therefore painted it bright yellow and Hey Presto - I had no further problems with not being seen."
Rob is convinced that colour is a very important factor in being seen and adds: "I would never again have a dark-coloured car."
Paul Waldron concurs, writing that most experienced motorists will be aware that, depending on prevailing conditions, many dark-coloured vehicles can be less visible than others.
He suggests that one way to improve visibility is to use dipped headlights all the time, as Dublin City Council has been piloting recently.
But he also suggests some common sense for drivers - in the form of a green cross code for drivers: look right, look left, look right AGAIN. "In other words, always look TWICE before emerging from a side road or turning."
However, to avoid stereotyping green car drivers as terrors of our roads, he expands our list of dangerous colours, to add in those in white vehicles. He adds that "drivers of gleaming white cars are particularly invisible when strong sunlight is behind them and approaching motorists are partially blinded by the glare."
The plot thickens.
Yet more bubbles...
Another week and yet more on the Heinkel, fast becoming the favoured car of the helpdesk. Judging by the responses, the roads of Ireland must have been filled with three-wheeled bubble cars in the 1960s.
In any event, Ted Neville from Cork writes: "it is worth noting that all three of the definitive bubble types were assembled in Ireland: the Heinkels at Dundalk, Messerschmitts at Lucan, and BMW Isettas at Ballincollig in Cork.
"Goggomobils (sic) were never assembled here to my knowledge and were a scarcer breed. They were made by the Glas company of Germany, who pioneered the use of rubber belt-drive for camshafts, before being bought by BMW in the 1960s."
He notes a curious detail about the four-wheel Heinkel which was (and is) taxable as a "tricycle", as the rear track was only 12 inches.
We can hear the sound of Heinkels racing to the tax office already.
Mea Culpa
There was an error published in last week's story about the NCT. Before you all rush off and demand refunds for tests carried out when your cars were youthful four-year-olds, the standfirst contained an error.
It should have said that all cars are called to test after four years, not five. Apologies to all concerned, particularly any harassed test inspectors.
Send your motoring queries to Motors Help Desk, The irish Times, Fleet Street, Dublin 2 - or by e-mail to motorshelp@irish-times.ie