Smart Motorways: Bolton driving expert gives verdict

Fourteen planned smart motorways – including 11 that are already paused and three earmarked for construction – will be removed from Government road building plans, given financial pressures and in recognition of the lack of public trust.

But the department added that the construction of two stretches of smart motorway at junctions six to eight of the M56 and 21a to 26 of the M6 will continue as they are already more than three quarters complete.

Around 10 per cent of England’s motorway network is made up of smart motorways.

They involve various methods to manage the flow of traffic, such as converting the hard shoulder into a live running lane and variable speed limits.

But there have been long-standing safety fears following fatal incidents in which vehicles stopped in live lanes without a hard shoulder were hit from behind.

In January 2022, the Government paused the expansion of motorways where the hard shoulder is used as a permanent live traffic lane.

This was to enable five years of data to be collected to assess whether they are safe for drivers.

Stock image of a smart motorway (Image: PA)

Roy Sammons, chairman of Bolton Advanced Motorists, said: “Smart motorways are all around us in Bolton, with the M60 and the M62. I’ve always distrusted smart motorways, they’re not safe enough.

“Even with the technology, to take 20 seconds to put an X over the lane because of a broken-down vehicle, in that 20 seconds people driving at 70mph haven’t got much chance.

“I’ve spent thousands of miles on motorways in my life, but I drive on smart motorways with trepidation.”

He continued: “I was going down through the Midlands last Saturday, there was an accident on the M6 J10 near Walsall.

“The ambulances and police tried to fight their way through traffic as it queued for miles to get to the accident.

“As well as the people being injured in an accident, they are not being helped as emergency services don’t have the hard shoulder to use to get past.

“If you’re sitting in a live lane broken down and traffic is travelling at 70mph, you’re a sitting target. That’s why there have been so many fatalities.”

Existing stretches of smart motorway will remain but be subjected to a safety refit so there are 150 more emergency stopping places across the network.

Roy Sammons

The Government also said this week that reinstating hard shoulders on existing smart motorways would be “too disruptive” and cost a “significant” amount.

But nearly seven in 10 drivers want the hard shoulder reinstated on smart motorways.

Some 69 per cent of respondents to a poll commissioned by the RAC said they believe the emergency lane should be restored on all-lane running (ALR) versions of smart motorways.

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “We’re pleased the Government reached the same conclusion that many drivers already have by cancelling future smart motorway schemes which would have seen dozens more miles of hard shoulder disappearing forever.

“But, as things stand, by the end of this year there will still be 250 miles of motorway in England without hard shoulders.

“Installing additional refuge areas and radar technology to help spot stricken vehicles is welcome and necessary, but for most drivers this doesn’t go far enough.

“Many felt they were dangerous from the outset and now it’s clear the Government has totally lost faith in these types of road as well.

“Today, it remains the case that anyone unlucky enough to break down who can’t get to an emergency refuge area remains incredibly vulnerable where the hard shoulder has been taken out.

“We continue to believe that reinstating the hard shoulder on all stretches of road where they’ve been converted into a permanent fourth lane is the right thing to do.”