Michael McAleer answers your queries
From Mike Wiltshire:
I'm an Irish resident driving in Ireland on a full British licence. I have recently incurred two penalty points for speeding and was later notified that my details were being held on the National Driver Database.
Wanting to know if I should notify my insurer, how long the points last etc, I called the contact number on the notification letter. I was told:
1: The points will be held indefinitely.
2: When the Department of Transport is able to, it will apply the points to my British licence - the points will last three years from that date.
3: If I choose to get an Irish licence at any time in the future, the points will be applied at that time and will run for three years.
It was also clarified that, if I get an Irish licence in 20 years time but clock up 15 points on the National Driver Database in the meantime, I would immediately lose that licence.
I was told that it's "up to me" whether I notify my insurer of the points at this time - no legislation or other guidance is currently in place.
I feel that it's wholly unfair for any individual to have this penalty point sentence hanging over them indefinitely. I'd prefer to "serve my time" with the points immediately. Had this been the case, I'd now be nearly eight months into my three-year sentence. As things stand. I've still got a three-year suspended sentence hanging over my licence.
It's another indictment of the current system. Clearly the comments you received and those I got on the case suggest that, as points have not been issued on your licence, you are under no obligation to inform your insurance company.
The limbo you find yourself in is actually worse than Irish licence-holders. We can incur several points over the three-year period, but after that they begin to be cancelled out. You, however, accumulate points until the two Governments or the EU get their acts together and cross reference the national systems. Even if that's in five years, points will accumulate against you in a way no Irish licence-holder faces.
The best advice would seem to be to get an Irish licence quickly and get rid of the points in the following three years.
The system seems weighted against non-national licence- holders in a way not faced by Irish licence-holders. You benefit at present from the lack of European co-ordination, but you will be punished in the future for Government delays. This seems inequitable compared to Irish motorists and suggests that you could mount a legal challenge. However, we strongly stress that only a lawyer would be able to advise on this.
From O Allen:
Over our Christmas dinner, conversation turned to fuel efficiency. My environmentally conscious son-in-law criticised all with cars over 1.2-litres. I explained in words of one syllable that cycling the 15 miles to work was not an option for a man in his late 50s - he drives six miles to a train station for his commute.
We moved on to the hybrid models - as mentioned in Motors some weeks ago more car-makers are moving to petrol-electric engines - and finally to the most fuel efficient car on the Irish market. There, alas, we drew a blank.
Can you help us in our debate (the criteria was real cars, not some contraption knocked together in someone's garage)? By the way, when my British-based son arrived in his Subaru Impreza STi, my son-in-law seemed to lose interest in fuel economy issues.
It may surprise your son-in-law that the most fuel efficient car commonly on sale on the Irish market at present, according to official figures, is the 1.4-litre Citroën C3 HDI diesel. Citroën's data claims it has a combined fuel consumption of 67.3 mpg.
In fact the vast majority of the most fuel efficient cars commonly sold in Ireland are either 1.4-litre or 1.5-litre diesels. Even the hybrid Prius features a 1,497 cc petrol engine along with its battery. It claims 65.7 mpg, as does the Peugeot 206 with the same 1.4-litre diesel as the C3.
Next up is the VW Lupo SDI with 64.2 mpg. Given the root of your debate, it's worth noting that this is powered by a 1.7-litre diesel.
Of the rest, it seems that 62.8 mpg is a popular target for car firms. It's shared by Renault's Megane 1.5dCi 100, the Fiat Punto 1.3-litre MultiJet and Mazda2 1.4 TD. Fiat will bring its 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel to the Panda range soon - we can then expect it to reach Prius economy levels. For now the Citroën has the title.
A quick perusal of the data in Britain shows that Citroen holds the crown there also, with the same 1.4-litre diesel engine; only this time in the C2 it manages 68.9 mpg. Of course we have never managed to achieve the sort of consumption reached in these tests but they are a useful guide to comparable consumption.
Send your queries to
Motors Help Desk, The Irish Times, Fleet Street, Dublin 2 - or e-mail them to motorshelp@irish-times.ie