EVERY WEEK, WE bring you all the latest news you need to know from the motoring world.
A review by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) in association with DoneDeal has found there has been a 2.8% decrease in the average price of a new car in Ireland since January this year.
The Q1 Motor Industry Review also shows there has been an 11.1% decrease in the price of petrol and a 17.7% decrease in the price of diesel.
However, it’s not all good news as the price of motor insurance has increased by 32.4% and it’s now 47.6% higher than it was in March 2012.
Motorists who drive with defective or worn tyres on their vehicle could receive a fine of €80 and two penalty points on their licence, or four points following a conviction in court. The new regulations were announced last week by Paschal Donohoe TD, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and are already in effect.
During the period 2008 to 2012 defective tyres represented almost two thirds of all vehicle factors identified as contributing to a collision and were a factor in the deaths of 71 people on Irish roads.
Minister Donohoe said:
None of us can predict what will happen on our roads; we may encounter other drivers behaving poorly or adverse weather conditions. However, we can take personal responsibility for ensuring that our vehicle is properly maintained and be confident that our tyres can reliably respond to whatever conditions we may encounter.
The RSA strongly recommends that you check your tyres at least once a month and have a minimum thread depth of 1.6mm.
Toyota Ireland has been told it cannot claim to have “the best built cars in the world” in its advertisements after a complaint was upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland.
According to the ASAI, a number of consumer complaints were received in relation to the claim.
Javelin Advertising, the agency for Toyota in Ireland, responded with evidence which it said provided substantiation for the advertising claim but despite this, the ASAI concluded that a high level of substantiation would be required to prove a ‘superlative’ claim such as ‘best built’ particularly in the context of it being ‘in the world’ and therefore the claim should not be used again.
Toyota has been refused an opportunity to appeal the decision.
Toyota Ireland CEO Steve Tormey said he was “absolutely bemused” by the decision as well as the refusal to allow an appeal. “The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland decision is all the more baffling given we have been using the proposition in the Irish market for 20 years.”
The RSA claims that reducing the speed limit to 30km/h would protect pedestrians and children as well as boost tourism by promoting a positive road safety image and it may well encourage more walking and cycling tours around Ireland.
At present, the general speed around cities and towns in Ireland is 50km/h and these zones are the worst for speeding offences.
Studies show that 5 in 10 pedestrians will die if hit by a car travelling at 50km/h, however this drops to 1 in 10 if struck by a car travelling at 30km/h.
Moyagh Murdock, CEO of the Road Safety Authority, said: “30 km/h should be the default position, and if you want this increased, you should have to ask for it.”
Ms Murdock went on to say that lower speed limits had worked in many other places including Edinburgh, where 20mph (32km/h) zones cover nearly 80% of the city.
Despite the successful adoption of 30km/h zones in other countries, Ms Murdock said Ireland has been slower to move towards reducing limits as “there is a fear of negative reaction”. Local Authorities have had the power to reduce speed limits since 2005.
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