Liepaja signs warn of ice falling from wind turbines

Warning signs in Liepaja alert drivers that ice could fall from wind turbines in winter, but they do not impose any requirements on motorists, LSM’s 4th Studio reported.

The signs on Lībiešu Street and 14 November Boulevard warn of possible falling ice and mark a 1.5-kilometre stretch of road. Latvia’s Road Traffic Safety Directorate says they are informational signs used by the turbine owner to flag a potential hazard.

Traffic safety expert Oskars Irbītis said he had not seen such signs before. Drivers do not need to change their speed when they see them, he said, comparing the warning to signs about falling rocks or ice falling from roofs.

If ice falling from a turbine blade damages a car, the driver can seek compensation from the wind turbine owner, Irbītis said.

Liepaja’s central administration said the signs had come as a surprise. It asked the company to address the potential danger and provide a risk assessment and information about safety measures. The municipality’s position is that the operator must ensure the turbines are safe or stop them if it cannot. It also said that putting up a warning sign does not settle liability or transfer the risk of potential losses to drivers.