Roadside Verge, Duty of Care?

kirving

Hi all,

The OP of the below thread in the Motors forum damaged their car on a large stone when they drove their car onto someone's grass verge on a country road.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058256913/damaged-my-undercarriage

The simplistic answer would be that the driver is responsible for not hitting stones, but isn't is a bit more nuanced than that?

Councils are responsible for ensuring that roads are in a safe condition, and the same would go for any publicly accessible business, car park, etc. But how does this responsibility extend to a home?

Secondly, the prevailing thought on the thread is "It’s their property they can put what they like on it. You can’t dictate what someone can do on their private property."

How does this extend to reasonably foreseeable risks, specifically placing stones at the edge of the road? They act as a deterrent precisely because they are designed to cause damage, with the expectation that a driver will know this (which in itself is reasonable), but what about when things diverge from that initial condition?

It's foreseeable that grass will grow and obscure them. It's foreseeable that a car will drive on the grass. It's foreseeable that they could move for one reason or another and create a hazard on the road.

Obviously the specifics of this particular case can't be commented on, but in general, would there be any potential liability on a homeowner for such a tactic?

kennethsmyth

Essentially the home owner is responsible for anything they put on the verge - hidden stone for example. However you would have to prove they put it there - ie see them moving it for mowing etc.

Easy fix is don't park on someones verge - it gets messed up and you're not being very neighbourly. You can but then be prepared for them to put things on verge to stop it occurring.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058257406/roadside-verge-duty-of-care

If the wall was obscured by a hedge and you hit it, would you claim it was a hazard? Think the driver would be liable for any damage to the property rather than the other way round.

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119430097#Comment_119430097

No, because the hedge in itself would very clearly present a hazard it itself. My question is about hazards which can be reasonably expected in particular scenario, as how liability might be determined in the case of a homeowner?

For example a different quality standard would be applied to a forest walk, than to a street pavement. A pavement slab sitting 5mm above the next one would be trip hazard, but 50mm stones on a forest walk would be entirely reasonable.

One side of the argument is "it's my private property I can do what I like" - does that cover placing a trip wire across the garden gate and telling the delivery person that they should have been more careful?

screamer

You’re not allowed to build anything within a meter of the roadside, walls etc for safety reasons. I’d imagine if the rocks were out there purposely and caused an issue the home owner may well have liability. It’s hard to know, but the things people do to protect a little bit of grass is nuts, everything from pots to boulders used.

NUTLEY BOY

Kirving asks "Obviously the specifics of this particular case can't be commented on, but in general, would there be any potential liability on a homeowner for such a tactic? "

I would say potentially yes. Specifically, the householder cannot create a hazard in the highway.

Victor

The property owner does not control anything beyond the boundary. Placing stones on the verge is littering and arguably a hazard.

It is an offence to park or drive on a verge only where there is a footway.

If people want to keep people off the roadway, build a footway.

kennethsmyth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119431935#Comment_119431935

Stop driving on the verge then, the verges around my way are eaten away leaving dangerous ruts between the remaining grass and road tarmac, bit by bit the verge is reducing.