Drivers must have "particular regard to vulnerability of cyclists", judge says

A bus driver from Dublin has been convicted of careless driving causing death following a collision with a cyclist on Burlington Road in November 2014. Osborn Irabor, aged fifty-eight, had pleaded not guilty to the charge but was found guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The incident occurred when his double-decker bus struck Mary White as she cycled towards a T-junction. Ms White sustained traumatic head injuries and died two days later in hospital. Judge Francis Comerford emphasised that drivers must exercise particular regard for cyclists' vulnerability on roads. The court found that the bus cut the corner at the junction, placing the cyclist in a blind spot created by the wing mirror. The judge noted Irabor's previously unblemished safety record since joining Dublin Bus in two thousand and seven, and determined that imprisonment was not warranted. However, Irabor received a mandatory four-year driving disqualification, effective from January first, which will likely result in job loss.