Michael McAleer answers your questions
From Peter Conlon, Dublin 14:
On a recent drive through Kerry and Connemara, I was unfavourably impressed with the narrow winding roads labeled with a 100 km/hr speed limit. These roads are not safe at anything over 50 km in short stretches. Is it any wonder we have so many young, inexperienced drivers crashing into walls and other vehicles?
We would be better off with no speed limits , leaving it to the driver's common sense. Would the authorities please match the limits to the common sense conditions, or remove them altogether?
There is no chance that the Government will remove speed limits altogether and if you were to spend time on some of those remote back roads on Friday or Saturday evenings you'd be very comforted with that fact.
The issue of relevant speed limits has been addressed on these pages for some weeks now Iit could be regarded as a very relevant local election issue that should be brought up with candidates for next year's election.
From George Reynolds, Annamoe, Co Wicklow:
I have been following the penalty points topic on Spanish and French TV and thought the following facts might interest you and the readers.
Spain has just introduced a penalty points system and France has already done so, both with an important distinction from the Irish system - the points are not "awarded" but are "taken away" from the driver who is given 12 points each year, a novice driver is given only 6. It seems a minor point, but psychologically, people are more concerned when something is taken from them. Furthermore, there is a scheme whereby drivers who have incurred the loss of points can redeem them by undertaking a re-training course offered by some insurance companies who are approved by the Dirección Genéral de Tráfico.
By the way, you lose two points for throwing rubbish out the window. No need for junkets to New Zealand when good ideas are just on our doorstep.
As with all things involving road safety, we need a concerted pan-European approach. Whether we count up or down is rather a minor point compared to the fact that if you happen to be from Spain you can't get any points over here and vice versa. This situation is ludicrous. It's surely a problem that EU officials could help national governments address.
From Maeve Edwards:
I read some time last year that all new cars will give an evaluation score on how they react in a crash. I want to buy a new car next year and wonder has this been implemented yet and where I would find the score for various cars.
I think you are referring to the Euro NCAP crash test results for cars. Most new cars and many older ones are now listed on the Euro NCAP website at euroncap.com.
From P Dillon:
Is there such a thing as a woman's car?
It's a pretty sexist expression and these days it's outdated. Of course there are cars that are more popular with women than with men, such as the Peugeot 206 and Citroën C3 Pluriel.
Yet women have the same range of interests as men when looking to buy a car: some simply want a reliable vehicle to get them from A to B; others want something fashionable and eyecatching; while others still seek performance, family friendliness and/or economy. Perhaps the only motoring differences between the sexes would be in the area of what they find fashionable, but even then it's not clear cut. It's naive (and potentially dangerous to your health) to suggest women don't know about cars or that they only want cute little pink cars that go with their handbags. There are women out there who would rotate your tyres faster than you can finish your café latte.
Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, D'olier St, Dublin 2 - or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie