Time for action – keep those verges clear

Traversing the highways and byways of this bejewelled isle during what has been a rubbish summer weather-wise, it has become very clear that there is a huge road safety issue which is being completely ignored by the authorities: verge cutting.

Now I know it is technically illegal to cut verges between March 1 and August 31 and that there has been much disagreement between farmers and environmentalists as to when is the best time to do this vital work. I also know that the Government department responsible for the laws in this regard - the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, believe it or not - is reviewing the existing situation, but the bottom line is that while all this arguing and reviewing is going on, an issue of major safety concern has arisen.

I’ve been through large tracts of Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Clare, Kilkenny, Wexford, Laois, Tipperary, Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal and the situation seems to be the same everywhere - nothing is being done regarding verge, hedge and tree trimming.

This was a job which, not so long ago, was carried out by councils on a regular basis and responsibility for which was subsequently transferred to those landowners whose lands border the road network. But, whoever is at fault, the job is not being done. Certainly you will come across certain places where responsible landowners have done their bit, but these are few and far between.

The net result is that for pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and motorists, as well as van and truck drivers, a road network that is already tricky from a safety point of view has, in very many places, become dangerous.

I personally know of several points on the West Cork road network - some no more than 100m long - where you can be driving into a blind spot which could hide several articulated trucks and you have no chance of seeing them coming or even knowing they might be there.

Bad enough you can’t see a truck, but what of cyclists, or pedestrians? People are - thankfully - becoming a lot more active and this has increased the numbers of walkers, runners and cyclists utilising rural roads.

However, in many places they are in mortal peril simply because hedges, verges and trees have not been touched in years and thus motorists have little chance of seeing them before they are right on top of them.

Defensive driving, as we all know, is a massive part of the armoury of any driver, but if you’ve no chance of seeing what it is you’re supposed to be defending against, then the potential for trouble is fairly obvious. Action is needed on this issue soon - not a review, action.

It strikes me that there are large sums of money being spent by the authorities every year on road safety education advertising, but yet this crucial area of road safety is being completely overlooked and peoples’ lives are being endangered as a result.

People are having wacky health and safety issues forced upon them in all sorts of ways these days, but road safety - particularly rural road safety - does not appear to be a priority.

It should be.