Spraying Chemicals and the Incredible Flying Surveyor's Stake

Apparently the roads are cut to provide for the safety of those traveling the roads. That's fair, but consider the following...

I've been told several stories by others concerning the cutting or spraying of roadsides. First, I guess I ought to at least be grateful that my local township doesn't spray chemicals, some do. That does more damage than the cutting, both to wildlife and to water wells. Yet I did hear a story of a chopped up surveyor's stake at the corner of one person's property. Apparently they use a chipper / weed whacker on a long arm and they take down small trees, along with branches from large trees, survey stakes and whatever gets in the way, including active bird's nests. I even heard that a weed whacker chopper once hit a metal fencepost, sliced pieces off of it which then flew through the air and into the neck of a Belgian draft horse, killing the horse. So if they cut the sides of roads for the sake of safety, then what definition of safety should we use..? To this day I buy bottled water.