Offaly pensioner fined for driving 'dangerous' van with seven major defects

Fines totalling €750 were imposed on an Offaly pensioner who had been driving a dangerously defective van.

Tullamore District Court heard that Sean Porter (67), Birr View Lodge, Roscrea Road, Birr was stopped on April 25 last year while driving a red Citreon Berlingo van which had been registered in 2006.

Garda Kieran Fitzpatrick said it was 12.40pm when he saw the van at Rathmore, Sharavogue, Birr.

The vehicle had a trailer load of blocks and had no certificate of roadworthiness on its windscreen.

Garda Fitzpatrick said an inspector from the Road Safety Authority checked the vehicle and found three major defects and one minor defect.

The vehicle was seized and when Mr Porter retrieved it it was brought for an inspection where it was again found to have a number of defects.

Judge Andrew Cody pointed out that the vehicle was a direct and immediate risk to road safety.

Garda Fitzpatrick said Mr Porter was a very pleasant man to deal with and he had no previous convictions. The van had since been crushed.

Patrick Martin, defending solicitor, said Mr Porter now had a vehicle which was insured and had a commercial vehicle roadworthiness certificate.

Mr Martin said his client worked as a mechanic but had been suffering from prostate cancer at the time of the offence.

A single man, he had never been in trouble before and accepted his van had a lot of defects and it had since been destroyed.

Judge Cody listed the issues with the vehicle, saying there had been seven “major fails”, including brakes, steering, tyres, the chassis and the speedometer.

Mr Porter had been summonsed for three alleged offences – using a commercial vehicle without a certificate of roadworthiness, failing to produce a certificate of roadworthiness and driving a dangerously defective vehicle.

Judge Cody imposed one fine of €500 and another of €200 and gave Mr Porter six months to pay the fines.

“You're very lucky not to be disqualified,” the judge told the man.