Wind blown trees

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Opposite the entrance of the yard we used to rent, a rotten limb of willow about 8 inches thick (so not huge exactly)had fallen in the road, large enough to cause a major obstruction on a busy high speed b road, but easy enough to clear with a chainsaw in 5 minutes. I thought I'd call the Highways Agency just to be legit, and said i have a chainsaw ticket and insurance, "would you like me to clear it- I'm not after money, but there is going to be an accident if I don't?" the repsonse was, no don't worry we will send someone to clear it asap. About a day and a half later...a bloke in a HA van with a bow saw turned up. No traffic cones or signs, naff all else. Official procedure transcends common sense yet again

 

If it wasn't so commonplace / expected, it would beggar belief....

[MATTMOSS]

Opposite the entrance of the yard we used to rent, a rotten limb of willow about 8 inches thick (so not huge exactly)had fallen in the road, large enough to cause a major obstruction on a busy high speed b road, but easy enough to clear with a chainsaw in 5 minutes. I thought I'd call the Highways Agency just to be legit, and said i have a chainsaw ticket and insurance, "would you like me to clear it- I'm not after money, but there is going to be an accident if I don't?" the repsonse was, no don't worry we will send someone to clear it asap. About a day and a half later...a bloke in a HA van with a bow saw turned up. No traffic cones or signs, naff all else. Official procedure transcends common sense yet again

 

Its probably because if they gave you the go ahead they could be held responsible for your actions.

[Remora107]

On two occasions in the last three years trees have come down in our country lane , on both occasions I have been involved in clearing them . With the first one I got the local farmer and the tree owner out of bed and the three of us had it cleared by 8.30 am . We were helped clear the debris by some of the people waiting to get through . Typically it happened on bin emptying day so we were able to get the road open before the dustbin lorry came through .

The second occasion I knew the owner of the tree and started clearing before he arrived . We had it cleared in half an hour . How long would we have had to wait for the council to come and clear it ?

 

The fact that I had a load of wood from both trees is neither here nor there !

 

I also unblock the drains at the bottom of my hill . If I don't do it , no one will . Especially the council .

[MATTMOSS]

Nothing wrong with having some pride in where you live and doing your bit.

Empowering the community

[fagus]

You are vunerable working on the highway without permission, risks to yourself, other road users, damages.What seems a good idea at the time can have serious consequences to you and your pocket.

[Steven P]

Couple of comments,

I reckon if you thought it was an immediate danger then it is your duty to make it safe, whether this is to quickly remove dangerous parts, or to call the authorities / police / fire to do the same I guess thats your call. if someone else was removing a dangerous tree - and I guess you might want to hang around until they get there to watn others, then a quiet word should get you some fire wood. Otherwise the tree is someones but....

 

(thinking here if you were working site safety would require you to make anything dangerous safe if you could, just because we arn't working doesn't mean we should be any less aware of danger and making things safe)

 

My road is quiet, few hoiuses, farm, and so on and I reckon if a tree came down on it I'd have a go at clearing it and probably use the wood but it all depe3nds on the situation

[Stubby]

I had done a days hard graft , was wet through and on my way home . It was blowing a goodun and right in front of me a medium ( 14" dia ) dead elm fell . I had just overtaken the bin truck . I got out and cleared it soon to be helped by the bin men . I was too knackered to even chuck the wood in the pickup . Just wanted to have a hot shower and a cuppa on the sofa .

[jamesfra]

You mentioned a great topic. I was searching this solution but I didn't . I also want to know about cleaning up wind blown trees. My wife also trying to find out the best solution but didn't get still now. I got some reply in this post but I want something more clear information .I hope I will get a good solution.

[Haironyourchest]

My 2 cents - its your duty to clear the tree, if only to buck the culture of passivity that seems to be growing all the time. You could call the police and tell them whats going on. Maybe keep a couple of LED road beacons in the van for you safety. One would have to consult a lawyer to find out who the wood really belonged to, the land owner from whence it originated or the roads authority - but thats another matter.

[carlos]

my first question would be -what qualifications and experience do you have?

 

working on windblown, storm damaged trees on the road around traffic and the public, id say you would want to be competent, i certainly wouldnt rely on the public keeping a safe distance away.

maybe your talking little country lanes etc, not sure.

another issue is are the remaining trees safe to let people pass?

carl