Hauliers see red as overgrown hedgerows break mirrors and cause serious road safety hazard

The lack of hedgerow management is leading to a significant number of road traffic accidents on rural roads according to road hauliers.

The Irish Road Haulage Association has said their members are sick and tired of continual inaction on dangerous tree branches and hedges protruding out onto our roads.

The Irish Road Haulage Association have called 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 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.”

“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 19th June of this year, 19 pedestrians and 8 cyclists have already been killed on our roads in 2025.

Hyland also 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 March 1st to August 31st, 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.

Hyland said that his organisation is very aware of the importance of hedgerows and biodiversity, but road safety must take priority.