Skip to main content

UK organisations disagree on smart motorway ‘dangers’

A spat over how dangerous the UK’s all lane running (ALR) or ‘smart’ motorways are has broken out between Highways England and a leading motoring organisation. Smart motorways do not have hard shoulders, instead relying on emergency areas at intervals to provide refuge for stranded motorists. The AA recently highlighted Stationary Vehicle Detection, a Highways England report published in March 2016, which looks at how long it takes to identify a vehicle broken down in a live lane of smart motorway when s
September 13, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

A spat over how dangerous the UK’s all lane running (ALR) or ‘smart’ motorways are has broken out between 8101 Highways England and a leading motoring organisation.

Smart motorways do not have hard shoulders, instead relying on emergency areas at intervals to provide refuge for stranded motorists.

The AA recently highlighted Stationary Vehicle Detection, a Highways England report published in March 2016, which looks at how long it takes to identify a vehicle broken down in a live lane of smart motorway when stationery vehicle detection (SVD) systems are not in place.

AA says Highways England’s analysis suggests that “stopping in a live lane of an ALR motorway more than triples the danger when compared to a traditional motorway with a continuous hard shoulder”.

Using a Freedom of Information request, the AA says it found only 24.2 miles of England’s 135.1 miles of ALR are covered by SVD technology. Highways England, the government agency which oversees England’s major roads, insists that it plans to roll out more SVD and that all ALR motorways have full CCTV coverage of the “mainline carriageway”.

But AA president Edmund King counters: “This is a truly shocking revelation and shows just how dangerous it can be breaking down in a live lane. This highlights why growing numbers of the public are justified in their safety concerns over the removal of the hard shoulder

However, speaking at a conference, Highways England chief executive Jim O’Sullivan was %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external quoted false https://www.transport-network.co.uk/OSullivan-hits-back-at-smart-motorway-critics/16152 false false%> by Transport Network as saying: “I do find it hard to understand the gap between what we have done on smart motorways to make them safe and keep them safe and the perception that they aren’t safe that is often expressed in the newspapers and by some of the motoring organisations.”

O’Sullivan says there is no difference between accident rates on smart and conventional motorways.

The widow of a driver killed this year on a smart motorway has already announced she is to bring a case of corporate manslaughter against Highways England. Separately, the organisation announced this week that it is to offer rescue and roadside recovery services a new training course to help them work safely on smart motorways.

Related Content

  • January 31, 2019
    Virginia and Transurban spend $1bn on infrastructure to improve congestion
    The US state of Virginia and road operator Transurban are investing more than $1 billion in four projects to help tackle congestion on the I-495 and I-95. The partners want to establish a 90-mile network of connected Express Lanes throughout Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg by 2022. Virginia Department of Transportation (VDoT) and Transurban have signed an agreement for the first project, Capital Beltway Express Lanes Northern Extension. The new 2.5-mile area will offer four general purpose lanes and
  • March 30, 2015
    New videos show operation of new Dartford Tunnel safety system
    New animations have been released by the UK Highways Agency showing how the new safety system will operate at the Dartford Crossing. The videos show how the system that is due to be introduced on the northbound carriageway in May will identify and stop oversized vehicles or those carrying dangerous goods from entering the tunnels. They also provide clear advice to drivers of these vehicles about getting in the correct lane in plenty of time which will help minimise the number of times vehicles need to be st
  • September 21, 2012
    ITS International: Meet us in Vienna
    ITS International, the number one business-to-business title for anyone involved in advanced technology for the traffic management and urban mobility markets, is in Vienna to report from the ITS World Congress, 2012, http://2012.itsworldcongress.com/content , which takes place from the 22-26 October. Once again, ITS International will lead coverage of the event through its www.DailyNews-Online.com/ITSWorldCongress-2012 site. We are planning to bring you all the latest preview and live event news from the I
  • December 19, 2016
    ITS associations highlight road safety, video analysis, new regulations
    ITS Australia has welcomed the country's National Transport Commission's roadmap of regulatory reform for automated vehicles, Ertico-ITS Europe has been appointed as the work-package leader for dissemination, exploitation and standardisation for the EU’s Cloud LSVA, French opportunities in the Italian ITS market formed the theme of ITS France’s first international breakfast meeting, TTS Italia vice president Diego Galletta highlighted the role of new technology solutions, Chris Philip, ITS Canada’s new boar