Smart Motorway Scheme Delayed
The government has delayed the nationwide smart motorway scheme for five years.
The Government announced last week that the scheme to roll out “all-lane running” smart motorways had been “paused”. This comes after the Government had previously planned to extend the current smart motorway system by 300 miles of all lane roads by 2025. They say this U-turn decision is to gather more data on the safety of the system.
The all-lanes running smart motorways would see the hard shoulder used as a permanent lane for traffic. If a vehicle stops on the road, a red ‘x’ displays above the lane to signal that oncoming traffic shouldn’t use it. But road safety campaigners argue that this compromises the safety of all road users.
A survey from Licence Check-in 2021 found 56% of drivers thought smart motorways were unsafe.
Government Response
MPs shared these concerns in November last year when The Transport Select Committee submitted a report to support the scrappage of any future smart motorways.
The Government says they will use this pause in the rollout to assess the safety of future smart motorways. They will use the current smart motorway systems to gather safety and economic data. They will then assess whether further rollout is advisable in 2027.
Comment
Campaigner Claire Mercer has been rallying against the smart motorway system since her husband died in a collision. In response to the governments decision she said:
“The only acceptable thing would be for all hard shoulders to be returned permanently, 24/7, on all motorways.”
Claire’s husband Jason was is among the 38 motorists to have died on smart motorways between 2014 and 2019. The fatality rate on the national strategic road network has increased since the introduction of smart motorways in 2014. One stretch of motorway on the M4 has seen a 2000% increase in ‘near-miss’ incidents.
System Issues
Cameras along the road network will pick up the slow or still vehicles and redirect traffic. But a recent investigation found that the average time between a car stopping and the lane displaying a ‘Red X’ was 17 minutes. The AA said this leaves drivers like “sitting ducks”, and isn’t safe.
The National Highways are hoping to introduce a radar system that will alert its control room about a standstill vehicle within 20 seconds. But there is no clear date for the introduction of this tech.
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Smart Motorway Scheme Delayed