The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and the County and City Management Association (CCMA) are urging landowners to trim their hedgerows by the end of the month to prevent them from creating a road safety hazard, writes Brian Byrne.
Properly maintained hedges help ensure vulnerable road users are not pushed onto the road by overgrown foliage. They also provide motorists with a clear view of the road ahead or around bends, particularly on rural roads where sightlines at junctions or obstructions to road signs are concerned.
Section 70 of the Roads Act 1993 assigns responsibility for maintaining roadside hedges to the owners or occupiers of the adjacent land. Under the Wildlife Act 1976, hedge-cutting is banned from 1 March to 31 August, except where overgrowth poses a danger to road safety.
