Drivers are avoiding hard shoulders converted to running lanes

Two fifths (38 per cent) of UK drivers say they will not drive in lane one of a smart motorway where the hard shoulder has been permanently converted into a running lane, according to a survey of more than 18,000 drivers conducted by the AA.
July 4, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

Two fifths (38 per cent) of UK drivers say they will not drive in lane one of a smart motorway where the hard shoulder has been permanently converted into a running lane, according to a survey of more than 18,000 drivers conducted by the 1459 AA.

This compares to 85 per cent of drivers who say they would drive in lane one of a motorway with a permanent hard shoulder.

When asked why they avoid using the new running lanes on smart motorways, more than a third said that they wouldn’t use lane one ‘for fear of coming across a broken down vehicle'. One in ten said that they believed lane one was ‘the lorry lane’.

Documents from 8101 Highways England analysing two stretches of M25 smart motorway scheme indicate that traffic flow is significantly lower on lane one than other lanes within the scheme.

Edmund King, AA president, says: “Despite all the talk about improving traffic flow and easing congestion by having more lanes, it seems that drivers are voting with their wheels by avoiding converted hard shoulders and clogging up the other lanes.

“Drivers are fearful that, with the current lack of Emergency Refuge Areas, they will come across broken down vehicles and have little chance to avoiding collisions. We need more education for drivers using smart motorways as clearly they do not trust the schemes in their current state.”

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cost benefit goes under the microscope
    August 21, 2017
    Conventional cost benefit analysis (CBA) of plans for urban smart mobility initiatives needs serious rethinking, according to a recently-completed European study. The three-year Evidence Project (the Project) emerged in response to concerns about the availability and quality of documented research – including CBA – required to prove that investment in sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMPs) can be economically beneficial. Covering 22 sectors ranging from electric vehicles to shared spaces, the Project clai
    Read More
  • Study finds big differences in toll collection cases
    December 16, 2013
    Examination of Norway’s tolling companies finds much to praise, and some criticisms too, as Torill Eidsheim told delegates at the ASECAP conference. The cost of collecting tolls has a substantial effect on the profitability, or otherwise, of tolling companies and is within the company’s control to a far greater degree than, for instance, traffic volumes. And while it is easy to assume that all tolling companies incur similar collection costs, that is not always the case according to Torill Eidsheim, pres
    Read More
  • Building the case for photo enforcement
    October 26, 2016
    As red light enforcement is returning to some intersections and being shut down at others, new evidence has been released backing the safety campaigners, reports Jon Masters. In 2014, 709 Americans were killed in red-light-running crashes and an estimated 126,000 were injured according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
    Read More
  • Sorting myth from reality in vehicle automation
    June 2, 2016
    Bob Denaro looks beyond the hype surrounding autonomous vehicles to the challenges that still need to be overcome. Automated vehicles (AVs) may be the perfect storm – in a positive way - with the automobile manufacturers, the government and consumers all embracing the emergence of a transformational new technology and product.
    Read More

Highlighted Content