Michael McAleeranswers your questions
From L O'Neill:
When will the Minister for Environment announce the new plans for motor tax?
I've just ordered a new car for delivery in January, and then read this weekend that we're getting a hike in taxes. Surely there should have been some lead-in time: not a couple of weeks when dealing with something that will eat into already tightening family budgets.
While it might look good for the Greens to claim the credit for this now, the announcement is actually nothing new. In his budget speech last December, the Minister for Finance announced that: "My colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Dick Roche at the time) will consult on his proposals for a complementary rebalancing of annual motor tax.
This would provide a further incentive through the motor tax system for the motoring public to drive cleaner cars, and would impose some additional cost in respect of cars with higher carbon dioxide emission levels. This would apply to vehicles registered on or after January 1st 2008."
We have also mentioned this change in articles we have published covering the proposed changes in Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT).
The problem for you - and for us - is that while this has been discussed and flagged for nearly 12 months, we still have no idea what system will be applied: a sliding scale or band system.
Changes to VRT were also due to be introduced in January along with the motor tax changes. This has now been postponed until next year.
Clearly as important as the environment is too the current Government, so to is the fact that with falling tax revenues from the housing market, the car market and the estimated €5.1 billion revenue it generates in tax is of growing importance.
The Government regards car owners as rather inelastic to price changes. For years they have been proved right. However, there will come a limit.
One wonders if the most people parked their cars and turned to public transport, how the infrastructure would cope and how the Department of Finance would fill the resulting financial gap.
If the Government was serious about applying the "polluter pays" principle, it would take taxes entirely at the petrol pumps.
This surely is the only way to ensure the fair implementation of the principle, as the driver is directly charged for the amount of emissions he or she puts into the atmosphere.
It's not about the size of the engine but about usage. If you happen to have a 2-litre petrol engine in a car that sees very occasional use, then why should you pay more than the person in the 1-litre supermini who is never off the road?
From J Harding:
A letter appeared last week about the use of foglights during the day.
You responded that the drivers either did not understand the symbols for fog light use or else they just thought it was cool to use fog lights.
That makes me wonder about drivers of double decker buses. If they don't know what the symbols mean, I am worried, and just how cool is it to drive a double decker bus with foglights on.
Bus drivers who leave their foglights on fall into a third category of motorists: those who just don't care. They probably know the symbols on the dash, they don't particularly think it's cool to drive with them on, but they just couldn't be bothered to turn them off.
Thankfully not all bus drivers are like this, but we've all come across the carefree few who think they own the road.
From M Walsh:
I read your piece on foglights with interest and would like to add my own pet peeve. This concerns the vast numbers of people who sit in traffic after dark with their feet planted firmly on their brake pedals. It is especially unpleasant when the car is a new model with bright red lights. Mercedes seem to me to be the worst cars to be stuck behind. Use the handbrake please.
While you might not appreciate the bright brake-lights, they are not illegal and do serve a useful reminder to following traffic. On dark winter nights it will warn traffic. If it seems too bright, then simply pull back a little. The same can be said in traffic. Leave a bigger gap and the bright lights won't bother you as much.
Our problem with drivers using handbrakes at traffic lights is that the same drivers often take their time releasing the handbrake and getting into gear before pulling off.
If every car goes through this routine, fewer cars will get through the traffic lights. We lack the second amber light that informs drivers a green light is imminent and that slows down the process at most lights already.
I'm afraid I don't agree with you on the brake-light issue.
Send your queries to Motors Helpdesk, The Irish Times, Tara Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail motorshelp@irish-times.ie