Skip to main content

Motorists worried about safety on smart motorways

The UK’s Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is calling for more information and advice on smart motorways for drivers. The call comes after seventy-one per cent of drivers said they would feel less safe on a motorway with no hard shoulder than a motorway with one, according to the latest poll by the IAM.
May 9, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The UK’s 6187 Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is calling for more information and advice on smart motorways for drivers.  The call comes after seventy-one per cent of drivers said they would feel less safe on a motorway with no hard shoulder than a motorway with one, according to the latest poll by the IAM.

One of the main concerns of respondents is the plan to increase the distance between safety refuges with forty-eight per cent of respondents believing that safety refuges should be no more than 0.45km apart.

Forty per cent of respondents are sceptical that new monitoring systems on smart motorways, such as electronic signs, can protect them in the event of stopping in a running lane.

Other survey findings include: sixty-seven per cent of respondents said they haven’t seen any publicity about smart motorways; a third of respondents (thirty-two per cent) would support the legalising of undertaking on smart motorways; forty-two per cent believe Smart motorways have reduced congestion and forty-three per cent of respondents said it has improved their journey times.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “Smart motorways are being rolled out across England but our survey shows that drivers want more reassurance and information on how safe they will be and how to use them.  The IAM has been supportive of hard shoulder running but we have always said that the 503 Highways Agency must be quick to learn and implement any real world lessons as more schemes come into use.”
UTC

Related Content

  • February 12, 2013
    M62 managed motorway scheme signs switched on
    Work to upgrade part of the M62 in West Yorkshire to a managed motorway, the first scheme in the Yorkshire and Humber region, reached a significant milestone when the first overhead electronic signs went live. For the first time, the variable advisory speed limit signs have come into operation between junctions 27 and 28 to allow the UK Highways Agency to calibrate and test the technology required for the new managed motorway, with the signs being switched on and off in response to traffic conditions. Advis
  • June 13, 2013
    RAC report - motorists frustrated with road taxes
    According to the RAC’s 2013 Report on Motoring, the condition of the UK’s motorways and local roads, characterised by the now year-round problem of potholes, ranks as a top concern for motorists. While the cost of driving is understandably still the number one concern for nearly half (46 per cent) of Britain’s motorists, two in five (41 per cent) say maintenance of local roads and motorways is their top spending priority. In addition, 84 per cent of motorists believe their local roads are deteriorating and
  • July 23, 2015
    IAM warns of new driving dangers
    New research by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) reveals the shocking extent to which drivers use their phones and tablets to take selfies, make video calls and watch videos while driving. The findings come from research commissioned this month exclusively by the IAM, which asked 500 drivers how they use their smartphones and tablets in the car. Results show that nine per cent of drivers admitted to taking a selfie while driving ‘in the last month’. This increases to 15 per cent of young driv
  • February 18, 2016
    Independence and mobility key for older drivers, IAM report finds
    The majority of older drivers want to continue driving as long as they are safely able, according to a survey commissioned by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), citing independence and convenience as the main reasons. The report, Keeping Older Drivers Safe and Mobile, surveyed more than 2,600 drivers and ex-drivers between the ages of 55 and 101 and was written by Dr Carol Hawley from the University of Warwick Medical School. Although the report found 84 per cent of driver respondents rated th