The Road Safety Authority (RSA ) and the County and City Management Association (CCMA ) are calling on land-owners to cut their hedgerows before the March 1 deadline, to ensure they are not causing a potentially serious road safety hazard.
Properly maintained hedges protect vulnerable road users who are not forced onto the road by overgrown hedges. It additionally affords motorists a clear view of what is in front of them or around the a bend, especially on local rural roads in the case of sightlines at junctions or obstructions to road signs. Overgrown hedgerows and roadside verges can result in road fatalities and serious injury collisions.
In accordance with the Wildlife Act, it is an offence to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated or growing in any hedge or ditch, between March 1 and August 31. There are some exceptions to this including if there are grounds to act for road safety reasons. Local authorities can and do either take direct action themselves or serve a notice on the landowner to do something in such instances.
