A road collision occurred on the N80 Mountmellick to Portlaoise Road shortly after 4:00p.m yesterday, Monday, September 13.

According to a statement from An Garda Síochána, the incident was a single-vehicle road traffic collision and occurred at Clonsoghey, Mountmellick, Co. Laois.

The road was closed for a period of time following the incident as a result of the incident blocking the road.

An update was posted on the Garda Síochána Laois Offaly Facebook page late last night, outlining that the road reopened overnight.

Following the incident, a male in his 50s was taken to Midlands Regional Hospital, Portlaoise, as a precaution – however, the statement noted the driver is ‘stable’.

Road users going on green

In other news regarding Ireland’s rural roads, two drivers were slapped with hefty fines after being caught travelling on green agricultural diesel at a multi-agency checkpoint in Co. Kildare this week.

The detections were among a number of offences discovered at a checkpoint established by An Garda Síochána, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and Customs and Excise yesterday (Wednesday, September 8).

Taking to social media at the end of the day, Gardaí based in Co. Kildare said:

“Our Roads Policing Unit [RPU] based at Naas performed checkpoints today with the RSA – Customs and Excise in Monasterevin and Kilcock.

“Customs Officers detected two vehicles being driven with green diesel [incurring] fines of €2,000 levied.”

Meanwhile, in what was a busy day for the agencies involved, Gardaí attached to Naas RPU arrested two motorists for drug driving and seized four vehicles from unaccompanied learner permit holders who had no L-plates displayed.

This resulted in both fixed charge penalty notices (FCPNs) and penalty points being issued – with court appearances to follow in some cases, local Gardaí added.

RSA inspectors checked 19 vehicles detecting major, minor and tachograph offences on HGVs, with proceedings to follow.

“Roads Policing Unit Naas would like to thank the public for its patience during this operation,” the Garda statement ended.

According to the Irish Revenue, green diesel, also known as marked gas oil (MGO), is diesel on which mineral oil tax at a reduced rate has been paid on condition that it is used only for purposes that qualify for that reduced rate, such as agriculture.

It is chemically marked and dyed green to deter misuse for purposes to which a higher rate of tax applies.

It is illegal to use marked gas oil or marked kerosene in road vehicles, the authority notes.