THE FAILURE of an anti-lock braking system (ABS) was the "primary cause" of the tragic deaths of five schoolgirls in the Navan bus crash, an inquest jury has concluded.
The jury of six men and five women returned a verdict of accidental death in relation to the deaths of the five girls who were killed instantly when the coach they were travelling in crashed in Kentstown, outside Navan, on May 23rd, 2005.
The five who died, Claire McCluskey (17), Deirdre Scanlon (17), Aimee McCabe (15), Lisa Callan (14) and Sinead Ledwidge (14), were on their way home from school when the tragedy occured.
The inquest at Trim Coroner's Court was told that cables connecting the wheels to the ABS were not working on the day of the crash and had not been working for at least 12 weeks before that.
A warning light which would have signalled that the ABS was not functioning failed to operate as the bulb needed replacing. The driver of the bus, John Hubble, told the inquest he was not aware that it was fitted with an ABS.
Garda Adrian Tucker, a public service vehicle inspector for 28 years, identified the cause of the crash as a wheel-lock which caused the bus to skid and then turn over.
He said the failure of the ABS had "fatal consequences" for the passengers on the bus.
"The absence of ABS was a major contributory factor in the loss of steering control and directional stability and this subsequently led to the resulting condition," he told the inquest.
"Although the lack of ABS was not the only cause of this collision, it most certainly would have assisted the driver in preventing it."
Garda Tucker, who was the main witness in the inquest, also identified other factors which might have contributed to the crash.
They included a heavy downpour before the crash, inadequate signage, the fact that some passengers may have been standing and the absence of seatbelts which meant that some passengers were thrown around the coach.
He said driver error was not to blame and although the road surface was lacking a top layer, it was within the regulations.
Meath county coroner John Lacey told the jury they were bound to return either of two verdicts: accidental death or death by misadventure.
He said the distinctions between the two were subtle, but a death by misadventure usually occurred when there were risk factors involved in the actions which were not properly addressed and when it was an intentional act with an unintentional outcome.
After the jury returned a verdict of accidental death, Mr Lacey said that a garda involved in the case had been asked by one family member why the jury could not be allowed to return a verdict of manslaughter.
Mr Lacey said the law prohibited such a verdict as the Director of Public Prosecutions had deemed that no charge relating to manslaughter should be brought against anyone in relation to the crash, and there was no provision in Irish law for corporate manslaughter.
The jury recommended that all buses be fitted with ABS and that all bus drivers be fully instructed on how to use the system and that the warning lights be maintained properly.
It also recommended that every schoolbus be fitted with seatbelts and that there should be an awareness programme for safety on buses in the schools. It further called for the continual assessment of schoolbuses.
The families of the bereaved made two further recommendations.
They recommended that traffic lights should be at proper heights and not located near bends where they are difficult to see in time and that schoolchildren should never sit in a three-for-two format.
