The director of a bus firm has been convicted and fined in relation to a diesel spill in February which led to the closure of nearly 10km of the county’s busiest road.
Ennis District Court has heard that the bus operated by a Kerry-based firm was not in good overall condition, and that it’s leak resulted in hours of traffic chaos.
The two-mile slick on the Northbound portion of the motorway at Ballymorris, Cratloe, shut this half of the route down between Cratloe and Sixmilebridge on the afternoon of February 1st last, and it was lunchtime the next day before it fully re-opened.
Thousands were caught up in massive tailbacks, including members of the Cork hurling squad who took on Clare in Sixmilebridge that evening, and there were five accidents, resulting in one injury.
The diesel leak had come from a bus operated by Kennedy Coaches Ltd., Main Street, Annascaul Co. Kerry, and yesterday director Patrick Kennedy was convicted of having his coach in such a condition that it was a danger to the public.
The court heard the vehicle had a fracture in its fuel tank, and that this defect was subject to a recall in September 2010.
However, Mr Kennedy said he never received a letter informing him of this, and the bus had passed a safety test nine weeks prior to the incident.
Judge William Earley said Mr Kennedy should have been more scrupulous in insisting upon a thorough inspection that would have found the defect and fined him €250.
