Michael McAleer answers your queries
From Ben Williams:
Please take the time to drive past the new Dundrum Town Centre along Ballinteer Road towards the M50. There you will come across lots of signs for the M50. Follow the signs and you will end up on the M50 all right, but only northbound.
There is no road sign on the approach roads showing drivers to the M50 southbound! There is, in fact, a slip road for southbound traffic, but it's a secret without any signs!
I live in the area and frequently I have to show lost drivers the way.
What a country! We heard about this before and, sadly, it comes as no surprise. There are so many mis-signed or unsigned roads in Ireland that you really do have to be a local to know where you're going.
The problem lies with the fact that, while the National Roads Authority (NRA) is responsible for road signs, erection is actually the responsibility of the local authorities. A case of erectile dysfunction?
That means that, while there might be a set international approach at a national level, the erecting of signs falls upon those who perhaps are not as aware of what standard practice is.
That said, it's patently obvious that where you have a major motorway going north and south, both slip roads would be signed.
The fact that the M50 is the main ringroad for the capital and, in Dundrum, leads from a major business and visitor attraction only goes to highlight the farcical situation. It seems the historic rule of thumb still applies in Ireland: don't leave home unless you know exactly the route you are going to take. Depending on road signs is a guaranteed way to get lost.
From K Carter, Dublin:
Congratulations to Patrick Logue on his piece last week (Speed not only issue on safety - MOTORS), which put our rising number of road deaths into perspective. All this attention to speed - timely in an election year - is a distraction from the fact that poor road conditions and bad driving are the real causes of accidents in Ireland.
It's worth stating that speed remains a major killer on our roads. However, as you say, bad driving is a leading factor in it.
Inappropriate speed is the problem, not speed per se. The proposals are to mount privatised speed cameras at so-called black spots.
Yet we all know of corners or minor roads where maintaining the current limit of 80km/h would put you in the ditch. A camera will not penalise you for this. Likewise we know of major road sections with hard shoulders where the 80km/h or even 50km/h limit is ridiculously slow.
There have been accusations that the penalty points system was pushed through ahead of the necessary measures to implement it, such as more speed cameras etc. However, before we add yet more speed cameras, perhaps it might be just as timely to have a proper review of our speed limits.
From Ciaran Quigley:
To date I have not seen any commentary in the Irish papers on the merits or otherwise of the new run-flat tyres which are being introduced. These are being sold to the public as a customer friendly advance in technology, but I have yet to have an explanation as to what happens when you have a tyre burst in the middle of the night 300 miles from home. There is also an issue of how long a life the tyres have.
The situation with run-flat tyres has been covered in MOTORS on numerous ocassions, but just for the record we'll go back over it.
The main benefits are extra space in the boot and less weight in the car, resulting in better fuel consumption and performance.
The downside is more in relation to ride quality, giving a harsher ride than regular tyres, partly because of thicker side walls.
As for the blow-out 300 miles from home, the normal distance runflats recommend is 250 miles. However, that's at the maximum permitted speed. If you are further away, simply slow down to extend the running distance.
The normal lifespan of runflats is said to be the same as regular tyres. That's the official line and we have not heard from people about them running out earlier, but would welcome other reader comments on this.
Finally, if there is a major tyre explosion, leaving you on the rim, then you had better have the RAC or AA on call.
Send your queries to Motors Help Desk, The Irish Times, Fleet St, Dublin 2 - or e-mail them to motorshelp@irish-times.ie