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Road safety: trees felled to protect drivers
Road safety: in Haute-Marne, 4,000 trees threatened with felling to protect drivers – (Franceinfo)
In Haute-Marne, 4,000 trees could be cut down along the roadsides. According to the National Road Safety Observatory, they are the fixed obstacle causing the most deaths.
Fewer trees along the roads. This is the wish of the Haute-Marne department. 4,000 trees are threatened with felling in the department. Argument put forward: driver safety. According to the National Road Safety Observatory, trees constitute the fixed obstacle which causes the most deaths on the roads. But the project is rejected by many residents: “It’s true that it’s gut-wrenching, since it touches on something that we see every day”. But opinions on the issue differ, because according to several road safety associations, trees protect drivers by making the road layout more visible.
273 tree-related deaths in 2022
In 2020, in Occitanie, the felling of 126 plane trees generated significant mobilization. But, in Haute-Marne, the department affirms that of the 4,000 trees selected, only diseased trees at risk of collapsing will be cut down. “The environmental code protects the tree, but there are a certain number of conditions which authorize us to cut them. We must carry out a study, look at the health aspect and the mechanical aspect”, explains Nicolas Lacroix, president of the Haute-Marne departmental council. In 2022, among the 1,570 motorists killed, 273 died after a collision with a tree.
