Fatal garda crash jury calls for review of tyre standards

The legal minimum standards for tyres on garda cars should be reviewed after a pensioner was fatally injured by an out-of-control patrol car, a jury recommended tonight.

After hearing evidence from around 30 witnesses over the death of Mary Seavers, 74, who was struck by Garda Niamh Seberry when the patrol car mounted the kerb on Clonskeagh Road, south Dublin on May 22, 2005, the jury sought a review of the legal minimum tread depth on tyres of emergency vehicles.

Dublin City Coroner Brian Farrell said he would write to inform relevant authorities of the recommendations including regular instrumental checks on tyres of emergency vehicles, a review of garda emergency call-out procedures and extra road signs for the road bend.

After the inquest, David Seavers, a son of the pensioner, highlighted the evidence of Sgt Colm Finn, a forensic collision investigator, who said the car would have had to have been travelling above the safe speed for the bend, which was 70kmph, to lose control.

Mr Seavers said: “It is a personal tragedy first and foremost, very traumatic, a very, very horrible way for anybody to pass away, but we recognise the public interest too and we hope the death wasn't in vain. And that something good will come out of some of the recommendations and findings in court.”

In December, the Director of Public Prosecutions decided no criminal proceedings would be brought in relation to the death of Mrs Seavers.

Mr Seavers, who sat in court beside his three brothers, said: “Having listened to the evidence for two and a half days and having had the opportunity to look at those depositions we are at a loss to understand why the DPP could not bring a matter in this case.”

After the jury returned a majority verdict of death by misadventure, Mr Seavers said his mother’s death was a great personal loss and she was an exceptional woman.

“A mother of four sons (our father is ill and continues to be ill), she brought us up in a great manner. She was a wonderful mother. She had a lot of life still in her - she socialised, played bridge and looked after our father,” he said, outside the Dublin City Coroner’s Court.

“Really, obviously we would say this, but you could not want for a better mother.”

Garda Niamh Seberry, who was responding to an emergency call on the wet Sunday afternoon when she lost control of the car, insisted she was driving at a safe speed.

Garda Seberry, 29, who had completed a garda standard driving course, said she negotiated the bend on the Clonskeagh Road near Vergemount Hospital at a safe speed of around 30mph or fractionally above it.

“I was halfway around the bend and I felt the car go over a bump in the road, I felt the car move slightly to the right,” she said. “I felt I had control of the car until the steering locked to the right.”

Garda Seberry said she was unable to prevent the Ford Mondeo patrol car striking the kerb and then the lady standing in the bus shelter.

The garda, who was accompanied by Garda Lisa Healy as observer, said she had been driving the patrol car for a year and a half and had negotiated the bend near Vergemount Hospital in all weather conditions.

Garda Healy said they were travelling at a normal speed, around 30 miles per hour to 35mph, when the incident occurred. She said the whole thing happened in a flash.

Garda Seberry told the court she disagreed with Sgt Colm Finn’s evidence that the car must have been doing above the safe speed limit for the bend, which was 70 kilometres per hour.

Under cross examination by Doreen Shriven, barrister for the Seavers’ family, Gda Seberry said: “Safety is first, not speed. It is not about getting there quickly, it is about getting there safely.”

The driver said she carried out a visual inspection of the tyres before taking charge of it that day.

Colm O’Connell, an independent engineer, said the state of the tyres on the patrol car were an accident waiting to happen.

The court heard the tread depth of the right rear tyre was at 1.6mm, the minimum legal level for driving, and the others were above this. The inquest heard the back of the car moved to the right as it was negotiating the bend.

Mr O’Connell, a chief engineer with Edge Anderson, highlighted that the Ford motor company recommends tyres should not be allowed wear below 3mm in tread depth.

John Nash, a consultant engineer and planner, said the poor road surface and the wet weather conditions were a significant factor in the car's aquaplaning.

Mr Nash said the tyres were legal but in the modern case they were sub-standard.

However, Gearóid Byrne, an inspector with the road maintenance department of Dublin City Council, said there was nothing wrong with the road surface.

Sgt Andrew Keegan, the investigating officer, said responsibility for the condition of tyres lay with the driver as the person behind the wheel should carry out a visual inspection of the vehicle before driving it.

The inquest heard the condition of vehicles are viewed by an inspector once a month, and are serviced every 10,000 miles.

Sgt Keegan said if the garda found a problem with the tyres they could report this to headquarters for an appointment to be made to replace them.

He told the court six accidents had occurred on the same stretch of road since 1992.