Tipperary court dismisses case against Bus Eireann for driving a dangerous school bus

A charge against Bus Eireann of driving a dangerous school bus has been dismissed at Nenagh District Court.

Bus Eireann was charged with driving a dangerously defective vehicle on Church Road Nenagh on March 14, 2022.

Garda Chris O’Meara told the court that on the day of the incident, he and a colleague from the Road Safety
Authority were carrying out inspections of school buses.

They pulled over this bus and his RSA colleague carried out the inspection, reporting a fault with a shock absorber.

RSA Inspector David Griffin told the court that he found that the bracket that holds the front suspension shock absorber had snapped.

It was his opinion that the bracket had snapped as a result of corrosion over time caused by “muck and dirt built up over years.”

He said the driver would not be expected to find the fault on his daily walk around but the company would have through normal care of the vehicle.

The inspector also noted that the shock absorber itself, had been replaced three weeks earlier.

The bracket should have been examined before the new part was fitted.

The barrister for the accused pointed out that the maintenance log shows the bus was inspected on February 22, and no fault with the bracket was noted.

He argued a mechanic had driven the bus to the driver's house that morning, and neither he nor the driver noticed anything wrong.

He also pointed out that a new shock absorber would have “put a bit more punishment” on the bracket.

“This was a functioning bus driven by an experienced driver and a mechanic,” said the barrister.

Mr Griffin told the court that the corrosion would not have happened over a few weeks, and it would not have snapped if structurally sound when the part was replaced.

The witness said the vehicle may have a good record over its lifetime, but on this day it was dangerously faulty.

“You have to remember this is a vehicle carrying children to school. You wouldn’t want to take that chance,” said Mr Griffin.

BIG SURPRISE

The mechanic who delivered the vehicle that morning said that if he had noticed a fault “it wouldn’t have left the yard.”

He agreed that the bracket failed and that it should have been checked when the new part was fitted.

But he said that he was not the person who replaced the shock absorber a few weeks before.

The driver of the bus, William Hogan told the court that it was a “big surprise” to find out the bus had a fault.

He said he had no issue with the bus, and had he noticed a fault, he would have followed the company's procedure and reported it.

The Head of Engineering at Bus Eireann, Ronan Tully told the court that there is a robust procedure for reporting faults and inspecting vehicles across their 15 locations.

Mr Tully said that all vehicles are taken off the road after 20 years, and this one was at the end of its lifespan.

The court heard vehicles go through three types of inspections called “docking” A, B or C, each one denotes the extent of examination.

He said if a driver does notice a fault on the road, they can report it to the office, which will send a breakdown service.

Mr Tully also said that corrosion had been noted on this vehicle and others but not on the faulty bracket.

Brackets have been replaced on three buses at the Thurles depot in the past three years.

He said since the shock absorber was replaced the bus had travelled over 2,200 km and was due to be decommissioned in December.

Garda Inspector Andrew Lyons put it to the witness that it was not replaced to save money, an accusation the witness denied.

“You were not carrying eggs, we carry people. We don’t save money when it comes to doing the right thing,” said Mr Tully.

DISMISSED

The barrister for Bus Eireann told the court that the evidence given by the prosecution did not meet the threshold for a criminal conviction.

He said to do that, the prosecution must show that the company knew or could have known through “ordinary care” that the bus had a fault.

Evidence given by witnesses and the vehicle’s maintenance log show a high level of care and no indication of a fault while driving on the day.

“It was a life well lived and driven safely under the stewardship of the drivers,” said Mr Tully.

Inspector Lyons argued that this fault did not happen in a short amount of time.Had ordinary care been taken, it would have been found before the part snapped.

Judge Elizabeth MacGrath said she noted the evidence of all parties. She also noted that there was a dangerous fault with the vehicle on the day of the inspection.

But, the judge said there was a process and system in place for checking vehicles, and so there was reasonable doubt that the company could have known about it.

Judge MacGrath dismissed the charge but said that now the company knew it could be an issue, they needed to incorporate the necessary checks into their maintenance process.