HIGHWAYS ENGLAND CONFIRM THAT 138 MILES OF MOTORWAY WILL GAIN 'SMART' STATUS DESPITE SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERNS FROM POLICE AND OTHER MAJOR ROAD EXPERTS

A survey of 2,010 UK motorists found that 75 per cent know what a smart motorway is, but only 48 per cent are aware of the rules that apply to them. Even more worryingly, 25 per cent know neither what a smart motorway is nor what the rules are.

England is currently the only part of the UK that has smart motorways. When the survey results are whittled down to just those from English respondents, though, the results aren’t much better - 77 per cent know what a smart motorway is, 52 per cent know the rules for driving on one and 21 per cent don’t know what they are at all.

The new smart motorways being added is a 32 mile portion of the M3, 17 miles on the M6 and 23 miles on the M1. Emergency refuge areas, if you can reach one under your cars failing condition, should be installed at intervals of between 1.04 and 1.39 miles. There is currently 500 miles of smart motorways that have caused many accidents and 44 deaths in their short existence of 5 years, with plans for a further 300 miles by 2025.

Civil servants that advise politicians have ignored a report in 2016 from Highways England who run the the country's major roads. It stated that breaking down in a live smart motorway in the off peak period is 216% more dangerous on all-lane running motorways compared to regular ones with a hard shoulder. Due to this Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has tasked Highways England with an 18 point action plan following his personal stock take. Highways England have said they will comply with his guidelines with new smart motorways yet to be designed will now have refuge areas no more than a mile apart. Edmund King, president of the AA, clearly stated that Highways England had constructed many of these roads 'sub-standard' but welcomed that the new roads yet to be designed would have these refuge areas.

Post date: 15-Oct-2020 10:56:41

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