Fine firms that have defective buses and put children at risk

‘COWBOY’ bus operators who put school children at risk by not repairing ‘dangerously defective’ buses could face an onthe-spot fine next year.

Current rules do not allow the Road Safety Authority to prosecute bus operators who fail road worthiness tests.

Instead, gardaí must take the operator to court which can mean a wait of two years before a fine is issued.

Of 873 roadside inspections last year, 268 buses were found to have a major defect and 37 were dangerously defective.

But from next year, the RSA will issue a fixed penalty to all operators found with faulty buses on the road.

Liam Duggan, head of vehicle testing and driver education at road safety authority, said: ‘There is no point in penalising a large bus operator €200. Level of fines need to be dissuasive to obtain the change in behaviour that we need.’

The change comes after some bus operators were found to have dodged vehicle maintenance in a bid to cut costs and get ahead of competition.

Mr Duggan added: ‘We want to ensure compliant operators are not being undercut by cowboys. It undermines compliant operators with good systems who incur the cost of doing the right thing. It is grossly unfair that people can do that.’

More than half of all school buses subject to safety checks failed over a 12month period, as 445 buses were deemed unfit for the road.

Moyagh Murdock of the RSA, said: ‘The most common defects detected were tires, brake lights and steering linkages.’