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TALKING ON THE phone while driving is illegal in a growing number of countries – including Ireland – but with the explosion of in-car technologies the potential for drivers being distracted is greater than ever.
The dangers of gadget distraction were highlighted at the LA Auto Show in Los Angeles, when a whole day was devoted to the opportunities and risks presented by the so-called Connected Car.
Technologies which make driving safer – from anti-collision systems to devices which prod you awake if you drift off – are increasingly becoming standard on new cars.
But at the same time the modern motorist can choose from ever more sophisticated entertainment systems, while social networking and other hi-tech communications make talking or texting on the phone seem old hat.
“Driver distraction is number one for us,” Phil Abram, chief infotainment officer for General Motors (GM), told a panel debate on the first preview day of the show.
“It’s important to get that smartphone out of the hands, and safely in the centre console,” he added at the show, which opened its doors to the public on Friday and lasts through 1 December.
Increasingly powerful smartphones can be connected straight into in-car systems, which often have flat panel displays able to stream music, video and more at the touch of a button, or screen.
The Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo concept vehicle is introduced at the Los Angeles Auto Show. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
German carmaker Audi presented what it called the “connected car of the future”, touting the new A3 sedan as the first to provide 4G LTE in the vehicle itself.
But a key problem for auto manufacturers stems from the sheer variety of phones, tablets and operating systems, which often fail to work seamlessly with the car itself, according to a study cited last week.
Frustrated motorists are left grappling with infotainment systems that freeze, Bluetooth phones or devices which do not talk to each other, or other glitches which require them to stab at buttons.
“The car manufacturers are really struggling with this,” Peter Skillman of Nokia’s Here mapping unit told the LA Times, which said electronics problems now outweigh mechanical issues as motorists’ top complaint in recent studies.
The sheer proliferation of devices also presents a problem for regulators. Whereas it was relatively easy to ban talking and texting while driving, it is difficult to draw the line with so many technologies.
“We’re not close to a standard on this,” said Kevin Vincent, chief counsel for America’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), adding that it is a long way from coming up with new laws.
“We’re making recommendations, but they’re voluntary. There are a lot of questions to be answered. It’s a very complex question,” he said.
People photograph the interior of the new Ford Edge concept vehicle. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Mitch Bainwol, head of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, defended car makers, and put the blame squarely on phones and how they are used.
“The factor that’s causing death on the highways is the device,” he said, while acknowledging the tough task regulators face. “The pace of technology is faster than regulators can cope with.”
Ford vice president Jim Farley highlighted the importance of in-car technology in his opening keynote speech.
“We have literally turned the car into a platform for app developers, who work with us to add value through new features delivered at the speed consumers expect,” he said.
A new Nielsen study, the key findings of which were presented at the show, revealed that people are already shopping from their cars, with Amazon.com the fourth most browsed site.
“It’s early days to be sure, but you can see that some consumers are already turning the car into a shopping centre on wheels,” said an executive from the audience ratings service.
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I love you tracker mortgage.
Amen to that vinny
I married mine.
She has very little interest though…
Now I get it!
Tracker mortgage holders are like Public Servants!
Right all. Let’s start berating Tracker mortgage holders for the leeches they surely are!
GO!!!
“I don’t know what a tracker mortgage is”!
AIB won’t pass it on – fit a letter yesterday saying they are putting it up again for the 3rd time in only a number of months… f*ckers!!
Your unlucky like me that we on variable. We are been punished for the tracker people.
First 2 years my mortgage was fixed rate cost me €1300 pm this latest drop in interest rates will bring it down to under €800. Still only surviving. Wages have dropped about €600pm in same period and then property tax and the rest. ECB are keeping me afloat
It’s all the tracker people’s fault. Grow up.
It is
Have mortgage for less than a year and already gone up 3 times. you can bet they knew they were going to do that before they gave it to me.
In 2001, Halifax were the first to offer tracker mortgages in Ireland – they even offered €1,000 to anyone who wanted to switch from their existing lender to the Halifax tracker mortgage.
All Irish banks followed suit by offering trackers in order to gain market share.
There was always a risk that the ECB base rate could increase so trackers weren’t always quite as appealing as they are now.
The irony was amazing – before Halifax left Ireland, they offered €1,000 to anyone who was mad enough to switch their tracker mortgage to another lender, thereby losing their tracker and ECB protection.
There is no doubt about it now though – you would be crackers to give up your trackers.
I am on a tracker. Thank you for paying my mortgage, oh hang on you don’t. So your being punished because the Government have no backbone, the banks F**KED up, Germans want their money back. Your not being punished because i bought a house and luckily enough got a tracker mortgage.
How much are you all paying above the base rate… I was paying 1.15 plus the ecb rate.. got a loan to value ratio valuation in the boom, obviously it had gone up so ulster bank aged to drop the base rate to 0.85…. my new rate is 0.5 plus the base rate which comes to 1.35.% wooo hoooo….
Don’t blame the trackers
0.9 plus ECB rate … Wahoo ;-)
Yeah I am been punished becuase your tracker is not sustainable for the banks and they are riding the people on variable.
You signed the dotted line, not me , oh and trackers can go up, which they will no doubt.
0.6% + base rate :-D
Mind you I did buy my house in May 2007. Just one month later and the shit hit the fan. My tracker is the only thing keeping me fed!
It’s incorrect to say that you are being punished because some people bought tracker mortgages. It’s correct to say that it is variable rate mortgage customers are being punished because of reckless and irresponsible lending by certain ( most ) banks.
Blaming tracker mortgage holders is like getting a last minute ryanair flight booking, boarding the plane, finding out the guy sitting beside you got a better deal, and then having a go at him. Nonsense!
If anything Ryanair are to blame for varying prices across the board
BOI can take me off my tracker for a fee of €100,000.. Please post cheque to…….
Blaming tracker mortgage holders is like saying:
“if my auntie had testicles, she’d be my uncle”.
john well said ! :)
Technically that is true males do have testicles.
The people on tracker didn’t tell you to take out what ever mortgage you have so its stupid to blame them
First 5years off mine was fixed to, at 1200euro and is just over 800 now and I to am finding it tuff, but get on with it as I did when it was 1200euro and am glad I am on a tracker now and didn’t fix it for another few years as wouldn’t have it at all now ,
i say good luck to all the very lucky people on TRACKERs.not ur fault.
I don’t know what a tracker mortgage is?
Don’t blame the tracker mortgage holders! we took a chance on switching to tracker and its the only saving grace we have!
Tracker was not a risk . Never was.
The bank actually insisted I take a tracker. Wouldn’t give me a variable rate. Makes it all the sweeter!
I was accused of being an idiot in 2005 for going on a tracker by a friend of mine. He advised me told to fix it for 5 years.
I don’t feel smug now; I just feel incredibly lucky.
Itiswhatitis, if you want to blame someone, blame your bank! its not tracker mortgage holders fault at the end of the day. we did what we did because we were advised to by an independent advisor.
@iswhatitis I worked in an intermediary mortgage centre in England until 2007 back when the base rate was around 6%. All the brokers and IFAs use to laugh at our attempts to flog trackers, even those that tracked below base rate, it was all about the fixed rates at 4.5%ish for them. That said we never sold a tracker that lasted longer than 3 years, after that it was onto SVR with you like a fixed customer, was shocked when I heard about the lifetime trackers here!
A Tracker mortgage is a product that’s paid for by someone else, Namely a Variable mortgage holder.So OK don’t blame the bank,All tracker holders know some one has to pay their bills.
Of course it was a risk. When I took a tracker, ECB rates were rising. A number of products were on the table, I chose one which I was quite entitled to do, and now people who chose differently are blaming tracker holders for their rates increasing. The banks are the villains here lads, don’t forget that
I read before that Trackers cost the banks when the base rate is below a certain percentage.
So if they’re costing other people now, then does it mean we were subsidising other mortgage-type holders when the rates were higher, Genius?
@Colin Tyrrell
No you were paying the rate on the day as was the variable rate payer, Its like uninsured drivers they know deep down the insured drivers are paying a big levy for them but the choose to ignore it and drive on.
cheers Genius.
You make it sound like Tracker mortgage holders are doing something illegal with that analogy!
Sorry about that Collin.but banks have to stop using variable rate customers as a safety net for profit making with the government backing.
no need to apologise Genius!
I don’t feel like a criminal; but I do genuinely feel sorry for someone not on trackers at the minute. I’ve worked out how much extra I’d be paying if I was on variable, and it would crucify me.
I saw a tv show on Channel 4 last year about mortgages & ‘Ledge-dwellers’. Ledge-dwellers are those who are currently on the verge of being pushed over the ledge – for instance if we lost a job, or if interest rates went up. I’m a ledge-dweller I think. And it’s bloody scary.
And I know it could get worse for me; I’m just praying it doesn’t.
@Genius … Was a tracker mortgage made available when you applied for a mortgage?
Why didn’t you take one so
I Honestly don’t remember it ever being an option.No doubt you want to blame me for not taking one,Which ignores all my points above.
Hang on to it Vincent like gold.
“Tracker bashing” has become a real thing in Ireland. Unbelievable. I fixed my mortgage for 3 years at the start, then switching to tracker. The other option before me was, fix for two years and go on SVR after. My broker advised me to fix for three years and switch to tracker. Thanks Mr. Broker man. But now people like me are ridiculed because of a decision we made, that lucky, ended up being the right one.
Yes it was I switched in 2005 when the ECB was putting up rates to 5/6 you were not giving out about trackers then , grow up , I bought a house in the uk 1991 interest rate was 17 1/2 % now that scare the crap out of ya
This goes down as the most ridiculous statement on this article.
Why because I too a chance , and it worked for me is that the reason John I was pointing out in 1991 interest rates were at 17 and a half% it’s the chance you take John
Are you sure you’re not feeling smug Colin?
No; just relieved, Rodrigo… and petrified I fall off that ledge!
What an idiotic comment genius (irony). I bothered my ass to research trackers v svp and fixed rates back in 2006 or 07 whenever I got mine. I asked a simple question to the bank rep as follows. If the ecb rates go up do the banks increase their svr? The answer I was given was “almost always yes”. I then asked if the opposite was true and was told no. I saw it as a bit of a no brainer. How is someone else paying my mortgage when I’m paying back the principle plus interest as agreed? It’s fairly obvious that they’re not…
Are you saying that the govt should penalise the tracker holders because they had the cop on and wherewithal to obtain a tracker? How does that work? The bloody banks are the qualified finance experts. So they need help because they made a mistake with trackers.? I don’t see ordinary people getting much help after they’ve made financial mistakes
Same here Vinny ;-)
So those on variable are blaming those on trackers for the banks actions
Wake the F**k up and try to gain some small understanding about finance b4 coming on here and making complete fools out of yourselves
Divide & conquer we’ll at work here, such an easy strategy with the Irish
Genius, I’m ignoring your points as they make no sense at all
Jason just nailed it. If given the choice it was an absolute no brainer. The banks would always pass on an interest increase immediately but would usually delay an interest decrease by a few months or not pas it on at all.
I think it’s hilarious that as I bought in 2006 and now have approx 100k of negative equity people are bitter/jealous of my tracker mortgage! I got all the luck!
Exactly Adam, suppose I got a break on the tracker but the 90k negative equity and the serious hit in my wages negates that. The best piece of financial advice I ever got was from my Dad. He said “listen to advice from Eddie Hobbs and then do the opposite.” The man is a Jonah!!!!
EBS you dirty rotten pri€ks, putting it up last week to counteract this cut. God how I hate ye and every other
S€um bank in this country. They are keeping us in recession while continually lining their pockets
I be willing to cash in the tracker if they knocked 100k off the mortgage…thus bring to term from rediculious 30yrs to a reasonable 15.
why rediculious 30years, was it not a rediculious 30 years when you first signed up for it..? what changed ?
Nothing changed…we now see the scam that it all is..
God bless a tracker
Am I right saying sll those being charged to the hilt are offsetting the losses banks are suffering from trackers? If I am right, others are gaining at the expense
More or less Barry , it’s what you signed up for most ppl took a fixed rate at the time witch was the right thing at the time when interest rates were rising trackers were loosing out now its the other way round
Trackerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr happy days
Wont affect variable people since the banks keep increasing that rate to offset for the lucky on the tracker.
Those animals in ebs will see this as a green light to ride us again just got another increase off them. I reckon these banks are trying to push us into arrears so they can take our homes, in the hope that the value will increase and they can then sell them to make a tidy profit.
It’s funny how things work out I was remortgaging years ago and the night before I went I was pricing a job for a mortgage broker he told me about the tracker and how it works (I never got the job from him) but the next day I applied for a tracker that man saved me a right few euro over 200k mortgage .
I dont understand that , they pass on all the increases but only some decreases , shower of *****
to my banker upon increasing my rate: May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your crotch and may your arms be too short to scratch
Mairead very funny thanks for the laugh.
Cos that’s mature
This is all well and good but ECB can’t maintain these low rates for ever… Once they start increasing interest rates it will be the ruin of the country. Banks will aggressively increase their rates it’ll force thousands into to unsustainable repayments and flood the housing market with people trying to sell to save themselves.
The Govt know we’ll this is inevitable but refuse to take their heads out of their Ars3s and try to address the impending doom
The AIB variable rate is just .1% below the fixes rate for 1 year… So flipping annoying this third increase just when you get your head around your repayments they go up!
I refuse to be guilt tripped by anyone over my tracker mortgage. I’ve had fixed and variable rates and when I was invited to switch, I took the chance. I’d be homeless by now if not for it.
Swings and round abouts , I got a Variable because Tracker were not available. i also bought my house in May 2012 and the price has increased (house next door sold for a good bit more tha I paid)
you can keep you tracker and be smug, but don’t expect any write down of debt or any reduction to those in negative equity
I promise you Brian, I feel anything but smug! More like sweet relief that because of it, I can keep my head above water.
House next door was a much better finish Brian
Banks couldn’t get enough of low ECB interest rates when they were lashing money out like there was no tomorrow, but now most people are getting shafted on variables for the incompetence of those same monkeys in the banks.
A pox on them.
Thank god, as for blaming tracker holders don’t be silly
Someone needs to tell EBS cause mine just went up :-(
I’ll bet EBS won’t lower their rates. Just keep an ear open for the absolutely deafening silence from the politicians when they aren’t lowered.
When I questioned the last interest rate increase from BOIF considering ECB rates were coming down , the response was quiet simply the bank needs to return a positive position. When times were good they didn’t pass on the positivity , bloody cheek.
EBS just put theirs up anyway.
” I dont know what a tracker mortgage is!! “
It’s the best thing since old mister Brennan decided to slice the bread for all the lazy house wife’s and husbands
Finally…can’t believe I had to scroll down so far to find this as a comment. Good work sir!
A tracker morgage is not subsidised by a variable.
It still makes a profit just not as big as the banks would like.
No it’s not profitable, there is added costs to borrowing than just the ECB rate.
You’d think that the banks should have thought of that. I think they are supposed to be finance experts
ECB dropping rates the Irish “pillar banks” raising them at the same time. The government will wash their hands and say they can do nothing. Somebody is laughing and it’s not the poor suckers caught in the debt trap created by the EU and Irish government(s).
The purpose of this is to stimulate the economy by reducing borrowing costs.
However, while the Irish banks increase borrowing costs on the majority of non- tracker holders, this will have little effect.
And tracker holders will see any gains taken away by the introduction of property and water charges.
This crisis is set to rumble on for some time yet…
I went from fixed to tracker 6 months ago, it was in the original contract that I could. Read your contracts! It’s saving me over €300 per month
Thank god so many people are struggling to pay there mortgage this is very welcome from ECB here’s to hopeing for more cuts in percentage
2 hopes, but god bless your optimism
I could kiss the guy in AIB who made me take the tracker mortgage, still won’t cover all the extra taxes the government have taken from me but it’s a big help.
So what if everyone that is unhappy with their bank decided to defer their mortgage. Put it aside and see what the banks do then?
The bank would ruin whats left of your credit rating in such a case.
Not enough people would get behind it. If you can afford to pay you are not going to take the chance with a faceless bank. They would destroy your credit rating and have the last laugh. Not that I know too many people looking for finance at the minute, but you get what I mean.
To use the technical term….They have us by the goolies
What credit rating :)
A unified two fingers to these wan*ers is what’s needed.
All mortgage holders deserve to be treated equally . By paying our mortgages we are keeping banks in business . I have empathy for all mortgage holders but the variable holders should also be benefitting . When the ECB interest rates eventually go up we will be hit as well
Increasing interest rates is a clear case of gouging and profiteering on the misery of others, It must stop forthwith it is not a commercial decision it is clear and blatant sharp practice.
My mortgage rate went up, So how will this stimulate growth in the economy as requested by the ECB.
Simple anyone as of today who has a tracker mortgage will have a little more disposable income.
You’re just being stupid for the crack Noeman
Genius i assume your name is meant as an oxymoron?
No its a humorous name, you might notice the avatar its a bit of a giveaway I think, But some people just think they’re above satire,What do you reckon Norman.
I have seen all your comments,i didn’t want to call you an idiot but your making it very difficult.
That’s OK Norman it no reflection on you that your ability to comprehend humor is impaired, But do try and use less venom in future there just comment’s, it will eat you up if you don’t.
Tracker holders are benefiting now where as fixed benefited a good while back. I was advised to go tracker from day one and that’s what I did. I am not a criminal for doing so and those on other mortgages must realise that their quarrel is with the banks, not tracker mortgage holders. I would not be able to live if I had a different mortgage. I am a very happy tracker!
Who cares . Wont be passed on and Irish sheep won’t put up a fight
Were you in that ‘I don’t know what a tracker mortgage is’ ad John. It has to be passed on to anyone on tracker mortgage
Im on a tracker also – but it hasnt been confirmed yet that its coming down, they said the same a couple of months back also….
It will have to Mark. It’s in your contract. The bank won’t contact you but will automatically apply the reduction. Check your statements.
I know that – im saying from reading this the big boys in the ecb have not decided to drop it by %0.25 yet :)…it will be decided later…
ECB (European Central Bank) = Private Company = Rothschild’s = WAKE UP!
While i feel sorry for those on fixed and variable rates to me my tracker is like the little bit of revenge at all those bankers who screwed us!
I don’t begrudge tracker holders there decrease, I just wish the EBS stopped putting our mortgage up, our mortgage is going up over 400e from June. That’s a very bitter pill to swallow given all the money which has been pumped into the banks and considering the lies that politicians spewed about forcing banks to pass on interest rate cuts. We just lost out and there’s nobody in our corner. More power to people on tracker mortgages, pity I’m not one
Another €40 hike with AIB
I’m a public servant with a tracker mortgage, let the slating begin:)
Some of us picked a winner for once in our lifes by choosing a tracker. Better than a fiver each way at Punchestown as this gift keeps on giving.
Relief it is a joke the tracker the variable rate people proping up the tracker so they can enjoy themselves.
Are you seriously bitching at people that have a tracker?I assume you took out the rate you felt was best at the time,as did tracker holders not their fault it worked out better.
Get over it,bitching won’t a bit of difference just makes you look like a begrudging moaner.
Who exactly is enjoying themselves?tracker or not I’m still at risk of teetering over the edge at any time like most and I certainly ain’t partying. Your generalisation is childish!
Norman your a tosser my friend.
You’re
Itis….did it take you long to think of that well reasoned reply?
By all means make a c*** of yourself if you like, saves everyone else the bother.;-)
well said …
Those with trackers were cute/lucky when they took their loans. Get over it. Pay your SVR. Us tracker people have holidays and new TVs to pay for. Cheers by the way…..:)
I’m in year 7 of a 30 year mortgage, I think in the next 23 years or so. The ecb interest rise.
Remember the guy in the ad for the Financial Regulator in 2007 – ‘I don’t know what a tracker mortgage is’. Bet he does now. It’s 0.5%!!!!
Ya good news but banks wont pass the cut on they never do
Maybe this is a stupid question, but I’m a little confused.
Maybe I’ve oversimplified how I thought this worked, but I always thought the bank borrows the money for X%, lends it for X+Y% and Y is their profit on the loan (contributes to overall profits, but also operating costs etc).
On a tracker, Y is fixed for the lifetime of the loan. On variable, they can increase or decrease Y based on market e.g. decrease it to attract more borrowers (in better market condititions) and increase it to just take more from what they already have, or potentially deter people from borrowing too much.
What have I got wrong in the above (without getting too indepth) that means SVR has to go up while ECB rate goes down – or is the real problem of passing more on to SVR mortgage holders is actually because they’re not lending money and just milking what they can from the customers they have?
Can/do banking regulations (either Irish or European) prevent banks from putting too much or too little difference on their rates (from the ECB) to ensure decisions that an ECB rate change, fundamentally designed to alter economic activity, is passed on appropriately?
Finally – don’t understand blaming tracker mortgage holders. Blame the banks for offering an unsustainable product, and the regulators for letting it happen!!!
I hope I’m wrong but it would surprise me if trackers got a tax/levy/charge in the next budget.
Rent all the way, no ups and downs with interest rates
Did you not read the report out today on here that rents have been steadily increasing, and also that landlords are passing on LPT to tenants.
“I don’t know what a tracker mortgage is ” ;-))
Wont make a huge difference when you pay the LPT but glad to be on the right track . Keep your tracker .
Surely 0.25per cent of 100k is €25.. Why is rte news saying its €15 ?? Am I missing something ?
I meant wouldn’t ….. Apologies
great news for me !!
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