Fake Garda Warning in Circulation

Posted by Shane Teskey on 10 September 2010 in Road Safety | No comments

A friend of mine called me up this morning asking if I’d heard about the new tactics being used by armed gangs in Ireland.

According to her, the ploy being used to trap the innocent victim is an abandoned car seat by the road…with a fake baby in it. The idea being that an unsuspecting passer by will stop and check on the abandoned baby making themselves an easy target for the ‘gang’ behind the scheme.

Thousands of Ex-Taxis to Flood Used Car Market

Posted by Shane Teskey on 30 August 2010 in Road Safety, Used Cars | No comments

From their renewal date in 2011, all taxi and hackney licences may be granted only to vehicles that are less than nine years old.

This means that a significant number of taxis currently operating on Irish roads will no longer be able to do so when the new regulations come into force in January 2011 and it is expected that many of these cars will be disposed of in the private market

Joyriding on Public Roads

Posted by Shane Teskey on 30 July 2010 in Road Safety | 2 comments

Having witnessed over 45 examples of circular black tyre tracks in Donegal over the weekend, Motorcheck.ie asks the question – Is joyriding on public roads a problem confined to the north-west or a phenomenon that’s becoming commonplace nationwide?

Reckless Driving With Fatal Consequences

Posted by Shane Teskey on 11 May 2010 in Road Safety | No comments

The latest figures for 2010 from An Garda Síochána show that there have been 68 traffic fatalities recorded up until 9am on May 11th. That’s down 24 (26%) for the same period in 2009 when 92 people lost their lives on Irish roads.

Despite the reduction in road fatalities poor behavior behind the wheel continues to put other drivers and road users at serious risk. The following pictures from Wreckedexotics.com serve as a useful reminder for us all of the devastating consequences that reckless driving can have.

Citroen Nemo Fails Which?Car ‘ELK’ Test

Posted by Shane Teskey on 28 April 2010 in Road Safety | No comments

See what happens when you drive a small MPV into an avoidance test without electronic stability control. Not pretty!

Car Clocking Costs Irish Consumers Up To €40 Million

Posted by Shane Teskey on 19 March 2010 in Motor Vehicle History Reports, Road Safety | No comments

Car Clocking continues to be a serious problem in Ireland and it appears that UK vehicles are responsible for more than their fair share. A quick look at our March statistics shows that 39% of cars where a mileage discrepancy exists are currently, or have previously, been registered in the UK.

Motorcheck’s national mileage register has in excess of 1.4 million odometer readings but there are a number of ways the detection rate for clocked cars could be substantially increased….

Are the Upcoming Changes to the NCT Really Necessary?

Posted by Shane Teskey on 15 March 2010 in Road Safety | No comments

New regulations governing tinted windscreens & noisy exhausts are set to be introduced on April 1st as part of the National Car Test (NCT).

Motorcheck asks if they’re reasonable changes that will help the ultimate goal of road safety or merely another way to generate revenue from the already heavily taxed motorist?

Beware of Cloned Cars From the UK

Posted by Shane Teskey on 12 March 2010 in Motor Vehicle History Reports, Road Safety, Used Car Buying Tips, Used Cars | 5 comments

The threat of cloned cars being sold in Ireland has significantly increased following a theft of blank registration documents from the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in Swansea. Motorcheck peels back the veil on this most dangerous of threats in the used car market.

Autoglass Irish Finals Take Place Today

Posted by Shane Teskey on 11 March 2010 in Road Safety | 2 comments

According to Autoglass at least one in a hundred of us could be driving with a potentially unsafe windscreen.
So says Alun Donnelly, Operations Development Manager for Autoglass speaking at today’s Irish Autoglass Finals.

Do Irish Taxes Compromise the Safety of Our Cars?

Posted by Shane Teskey on 2 March 2010 in Road Safety | 2 comments

If pressed, most of us will admit to having used a mobile phone, sat-nav or even sipped a cup of coffee when driving. These are everyday examples of how easy it is to become distracted when driving and common as they are it begs the question – is anything being done to pro-actively improve safety around driver distractions or is it up to us to improve (and an Garda Siochana to police) our driving habits?