Granada City Hall has to pay 31,000 euros compensation to a camper-van owner, whose vehicle was a write-off after hitting overhanging branches within the city.

The incident took place on the 11th of May, 2019 whilst the vehicle was proceeding along the Avenida de Las Fuerzas Armadas when a low branch, overhanging the road, struck the camper-van, destroying the roof.

The owner argued that the branches “occupied air space” belonging to the street beneath it and that there were no road signs warning of this danger.

He had presented a bill to the City Hall but they rejected it, so he took it to court, which sentenced in his favour, although the City Hall can appeal against it.

The City Hall had argued that the trees were perfectly visible from any point along the avenue. Furthermore whilst they admitted that there was no sign posting, there are markings on the road surface warning not to use space beneath the branches, indicating where it was safe to proceed.

A municipal-police officer had stated as a witness at the trial that there was no doubt that the damage was caused by the branch, as it also had damage to it and that the driver did not see any vertical sign posts warning of the overhead branches because there were none from the point where he had joined the avenue.

Editorial comment: camper-van owners are treated like lepers along the coast of our province and often receive fines etc, so it is refreshing to see that those that normally hand out fines, ending up having to pay. Having said that, if you’re driving a vehicle with a high roof, you really should be paying more attention, surely?

(News: City & Metropolitan Area, Granada, Andalucia)