The test centre charged in connection with the Navan bus crash has been acquitted on all counts against it. McArdles Test Centre Ltd of Dundalk had been charged with failing to note that the ABS warning light on the bus wasn’t operational, while conducting a vehicle test on the 15th of March 2005. Judge Pat McCartan withdrew the case against McArdles from the jury this afternoon. He directed that verdicts of not guilty be recorded….
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Car makers accused of overhyping fuel efficiency by up to 30pc
THE gap has widened between the fuel-efficiency that carmakers declare for their models and the reality for drivers, with luxury German vehicles the worst offenders, a study has found. The research by the non-profit International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found “real-world” carbon emissions for new cars based on fuel consumption are about 25pc higher on average than carmakers say, compared with 10pc a decade ago. The findings will add to pressure for the reform…
Read MoreMonday 15 June 2015 Vehicle-testing firm fined €25k after school bus in fatal crash
A vehicle testing firm has been fined €25,000 after being convicted of breaching health and safety law relating to the testing of a school bus which was involved in a fatal crash. However a stay was put on payment of the fine by Judge Margaret Heneghan pending an appeal by the testing firm, O’Reilly Commercials Ltd. The testing firm had failed to note the modified rear suspension on the bus prior to the crash. This…
Read MoreGardai seize 18 BMWs for tax fraud
A man was arrested following a morning raid on Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation by the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) Traffic Division. He was charged with fraud and theft offences during a sitting of the Criminal Courts of Justice and has been remanded on continuing bail until his next appearance before the same court on 21 April. The scam involves luxury cars from a wide range of manufactures, involves declaring a lower engine…
Read MoreMonday 15 June 2015 Life Newsletter How 200,000 of us risk our lives in potentially dangerous cars
Last year was the busiest on record for the National Car Test (NCT). A total of 2,026,630 tests were conducted. Two-thirds (66pc were full and the remainder re-tests). Of the 1,344,265 full tests conducted, 48pc passed first time. Of the 689,255 who failed, 91pc passed a re-test. Worryingly 5,624 vehicles were classed as Fail Dangerous. In the first quarter of 2015 a further 1,431 have vehicles have been added to this list. This means those…
Read MoreChanges to VRT rules set to combat conversions
Changes to Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) rules for commercial vehicle to be introduced next year are set to end the common practice here of converting passenger cars and SUVs in order to benefit from lower tax. The planned changes will effectively remove the discretion from car buyers or local garages to convert individual vehicles. The Revenue Commissioners and Department of Finance are planning to introduce a “type approval” system. This will mean that only vehicles…
Read MoreConversions can put drivers on wrong side of law
People converting passenger four-wheel-drive vehicles from private to commercial road tax classification have been warned that they are in breach of the law unless they use the vehicles strictly for the carriage of goods “in the course of trade and business”. The warning comes from the Department of the Environment as many people across the State convert five- and seven-seater four-wheel-drives to escape punitive tax rates for the passenger vehicles. Concerns are also being raised…
Read MoreFirm broke safety law in fatal crash
A VEHICLE testing company breached health and safety laws relating to a fatal school bus crash. A jury of 10 men and two women found O’Reilly Commercials Ltd of Ballinalach in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, guilty on one count. Michael White, 15, died when the rear axle detached and the bus flipped over on a bog road outside of Clara in Co Offaly. One witness told Dublin circuit Criminal Court the vehicle was tilting on the…
Read MoreTwo companies on trial over fatal 2006 bus crash
A Westmeath vehicle testing firm and the owners of an Offaly bus hire company have gone on trial charged in connection with a fatal school bus crash in 2006. Michael White, 15, died when the bus went out of control and crashed near Clara in Co Offaly on 4 April. The jury was told the back axle came off the vehicle during the accident. The bus had been tested the previous year. The rear suspension…
Read MoreThe “top five” of topical legal issues in the automotive industry
With the number of motor vehicle registrations in Spain starting to pick up after drawn-out years of economic gloom, operators in the automotive industry estimate that this year’s sales may indeed pass the one million units mark. As the car industry as a whole is stepping hard on the gas pedal to reach this target, sight of key legal issues must not be lost. Identifying and managing these issues properly will allow the main operators…
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