Do you agree with the proposal to lower the permitted blood alcohol level for drivers from 80 mgs to 50 mgs?

Discounts on accommodation, shopping, insurance and car hire are just some of the great benefits and savings available to AA Members at home and when travelling abroad

Click below for further details

Welcome to the latest edition of AA News, the online newsletter from AA Ireland. These are busy times for motoring in Ireland, with tax changes, high fuel prices and road safety all affecting car users. If you have any views on the topics covered or on AA Policy please let us know. I would also like to ask you to take the time to do our online poll and tell us what you think. Take the online poll here.  

You can also reach me by email at publicaffairs@AAireland.ie

Conor Faughnan, AA Public Affairs Manager

In last December’s budget the government announced two separate changes to the ways in which cars are taxed in Ireland. From next month, all new cars purchased will be taxed under the new regime.

Click here to find out more

2008 has seen  record increases in oil prices, but that does not explain why diesel is now so much dearer than petrol. For diesel motorists and especially for the haulage industry, the price rises have been horrific. Just when the car tax changes are designed to persuade us all to buy diesel engines for the sake of the environment, the price shoots up to record levels. Is this rip-off Ireland again, or is there more going on?

If you are driving abroad this summer take care! French Gendarmes show no mercy to tourists, Germans won’t let you insult them and the Spanish insist on spare spectacles. The roads are good quality and safe, but look out for tolls and be prepared for seriously expensive fuel costs...

Pictured is a typical Irish single carriageway, and it doesn’t take an engineer to see why it is lethal. Roads like these are rated as ‘one star’ in a new report by the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) which the AA co-authored. Ireland has a lot of these roads – 95% of our fatalities happen on them. The worst of them are now being identified and treated but we have a long way to go.

Click here to find out more

Its a cliché, but any car enthusiast will tell you why Germany has been a Mecca for speed freaks for years. In Germany, you can drive as fast as you like on the motorway. No speed limits, just let your engine rip and look out behind you for the even-faster speed-nut filling your mirrors.

Click here to find out more

Recent figures from the Road Safety Authority show that a quarter of all traffic offenders do not get penalty points because a legal loophole allows them to avoid it. Holders of out-of-state licence cannot get points – they can only apply to an Irish licence. The AA has put forward a detailed proposal to deal with the problem and close the loophole. The proposal will create a ‘parallel record’ of a driver’s behaviour in Ireland and this will bring out-of-state licences within the scope of the Irish penalty points system.