The Irish Road Haulage Association is calling on local authorities to ensure that roadside hedges are cut back, in particular at busy junctions. According to the hauliers, overgrown hedges are blocking sightlines at junctions, obstructing road signs and causing more accidents on the rural road network.
The IRHA is urging local authorities to consider both truck and trailer heights when cutting back hedgerows and to cut up to 4 metres high. IRHA President Ger Hyland is concerned that overgrown hedgerows may cause drivers to veer across the white line in order to avoid damage to their vehicles and wing mirrors, creating a dangerous situation for all road users.
Mr Hyland says an average a medium sized haulier is losing 2 mirrors a week on their truck fleet representing a cost of €1000 euro a week due to mismanagement of roadside vegetation.
The association is also concerned for cyclists and pedestrians as overgrown hedgerows can push them out into traffic. The Association is also critical of local authorities for not enforcing the law around hedge cutting which sets out a clear responsibility on landowners to maintain roadside hedgerows.
Hedge-cutting is prohibited from 1 March to 31 August, but there is an exemption in cases where overgrowth poses a road safety hazard.
