'That had the potential to be a fatality' - Leitrim haulier says council needs to cut 'dangerous' hedges

Gearoid Gilheany, transport manager for a large fleet of hauliers in Leitrim said that a "near fatal" accident near Carrick-on-Shannon could have been avoided if the hedges on the side of the road had been cut. 

Speaking about the incident to the Leitrim Observer, Mr Gilheany said: "There was an accident, about a month, involved two trucks. That section of road would benefit an awful lot from having a view of what's coming before you actually come to the corner and I can think of an awful lot of other places where cutting the hedges would be a big benefit to road safety."

He added: "They talk about road safety and the number of deaths but there are, in my opinion, relatively cheap options to improve views at junctions and improve corners where people have to slow down. You need to be able to anticipate what's coming around the corner and drive accordingly. These roads that are designated as regional roads but don't seem to be of the standard of regional roads."

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He continued: "Very fortunately that day, there were no injuries; it was just material damage. I'm in the haulage industry over 50 years as a driver and that had the potential to be a fatality and that's why I feel that a cheap option would have been just to cut the hedge and then put the cost back on the landowner because they are legally obliged to make sure the hedges are safe. The house there seems to be derelict but in my opinion, the council in those cases should just go and cut the hedges and charge wouldn't be significant."

Mr Gilheany's fleet travel through counties Leitrim, Longford and Westmeath and while he said that Leitrim County Council is one of the "better councils for keeping roads in good condition", overgrown hedges are "costing us a lot of money and it's very dangerous where we have to go out over the white line to avoid breaking our mirrors or damaging our trailers. The impression I get is that it seems difficult for the council to follow it up; they have to establish who the last owner was and might not get a response from the landowner."

It is illegal to cut hedgerows in Ireland between March 1st and August 31st under the Wildlife Act which Mr Gilheany said will further complicate matters. "Are the government prioritising the environment over people?"

At a council meeting back in October, a response to a motion about hedge cutting, stated that the under the Roads Act, the council can issue a hedge/tree cutting notice to the land owner requesting that they carry out works and after a period of inaction, the local authority can carry out the works and pursue the land owner for these costs through the legal system. 

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District engineer, Emma Donohoe said regarding the notices, "most people do act on them and then we'd send a follow-up letter if necessary."

Director of services, David Minton said that "enforcement in relation to road safety is critical. No local authority wants to take people to court for hedge cutting but there are a number of serial offenders around the county and a lot of correspondence being ignored and I think we need to be seen to enforce the legal powers we have."