Smart motorways receive safety upgrades

The recent construction of several smart motorways across Britain has drawn attention to the frequency of traffic collisions that take place on these new forms of infrastructure, leading the Secretary of State for Transport to implement an action plan that will increase safety.

Going into more detail, a recent analysis, conducted by the Department for Transport, found that the likelihood of a collision on the new smart motorways measured at no higher than the original motorways that were in place. However, the likelihood of a moving vehicle colliding with a stationary vehicle was much higher.

To counteract this, the Department for Transport is executing a new 18 point plan that will abolish the use of ‘dynamic hard-shoulder’ motorways, increase the frequency of emergency stop points to ever quarter miles (wherever possible), and install a new stationary vehicle detection system which should be in-place and operational within the next 36 months.

Works will begin on the new M25 smart motorway, where an additional ten emergency stop points will be established.

The Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps stated: “I have been greatly concerned by a number of deaths on smart motorways and moved by the accounts of families who have lost loved ones in these tragic incidents.

“I commissioned an urgent stocktake of smart motorways to provide a clearer picture of their safety and make recommendations on next steps. I envisaged it to be swift, but during the course of our investigations a complex picture emerged, which warranted further work.

“That work has now concluded and overall, evidence shows that in most ways smart motorways are as safe as or safer than conventional ones.

“But I am clear that there is more we can do to raise the bar on smart motorway safety. The extended package of measures I have set out will help rebuild public confidence in our motorway network and ensure that safety is firmly at the heart of the programme.”

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