The Irish Road Haulage Association have called on Donegal County Council and other 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 our 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.
Overgrown hedgerows pose a particular danger for high-sided vehicles such as trucks, according to IRHA President Ger Hyland.
“When hedges encroach onto the road, truck drivers are often forced 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.”
Hyland added: “an average a medium sized haulier is losing 2 mirrors a week on their truck fleet. That is a cost of €1000 euro a week due to mismanagement of our roadside vegetation”
Overgrown hedges and briers present a clear danger for cyclists and pedestrians as they can push them out into traffic at the last minute. As of June 19th, 19 pedestrians and 8 cyclists have already been killed on our roads in 2025.
Road Haulier President Ger Hyland criticised local authorities for not enforcing the law around hedge cutting.
Section 70 of the Roads Act 1993 sets out a clear responsibility on landowners to maintain roadside hedgerows but according to Hyland, enforcement is non-existent by our local authorities.
Hyland called on local authorities to be more proactive when engaging with local landowners who border our rural roads network.
Hedge-cutting is prohibited from 1 March to 31 August, but there is an exemption in cases where overgrowth poses a road safety hazard.
Results from a 2024 Ipsos B&A survey of professional drivers, commissioned by the RSA, found that 75% of 620 HGV drivers surveyed reported overgrown roadside hedgerows to be challenging while driving.
Ger Hyland said that his organisation is very aware of the importance of hedgerows and biodiversity, but road safety must take priority.
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