UK motorway gets first ‘orange’ smart motorway emergency area

The first new-style smart motorway emergency area, where drivers can stop in an emergency, is being trialled on the M3 motorway in Surrey. Highways England is trialling the redesigned emergency area in response to public concern about smart motorways. It has a highly visible orange road surface and better signs to help improve its visibility make it more obvious to drivers on smart motorways. It is also hoped that it will encourage drivers to only use them in emergency situations. The first of the new emerg
July 17, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The first new-style smart motorway emergency area, where drivers can stop in an emergency, is being trialled on the M3 motorway in Surrey.


8101 Highways England is trialling the redesigned emergency area in response to public concern about smart motorways. It has a highly visible orange road surface and better signs to help improve its visibility make it more obvious to drivers on smart motorways. It is also hoped that it will encourage drivers to only use them in emergency situations.

The first of the new emergency areas went live late last week. More upgrades are planned should the trial be successful. This change is part of an ongoing review into the design and spacing of emergency areas on smart motorways that is due to report in the autumn.

Smart motorways use variable speed limits to manage traffic and tackle congestion, new technology to give drivers better information on road conditions ahead and, in smart motorway upgrades delivered since 2004, convert the hard shoulder into an extra traffic lane. Highways England says evidence shows that smart motorways are successfully adding extra capacity, improving journey times and are just as safe as conventional motorways.

If the redesigned emergency areas are successful and drivers find the changes beneficial, more orange emergency areas will be introduced across England’s network of smart motorways.

UTC

Related Content

  • June 23, 2016
    Dynniq tests virtual tool for air quality evaluation and monitoring
    An air quality evaluation system that utilises existing data has been modelled on the UK’s motorways and tested in Manchester as Peter Kirby and Paul Grayston describe. It has long been known that emissions from road transport are the principal source of NO2 pollution, especially in the urban environment, and that appropriate transport management can play a big role in meeting environment and public health objectives.
    Read More
  • January 23, 2012
    UK's Hindhead tunnel pushes the boundaries of traffic management
    The new Hindhead Tunnel is the first in the UK to use radar-based incident detection. Paul Arnold, project manager with the Highways Agency, talks about the project. The comparatively remote location of the A3 Hindhead Tunnel has resulted in it becoming one of the most sophisticated in the UK in terms of monitoring and control systems, according to Paul Arnold, project manager for the Highways Agency (HA), which manages strategic roads in England and Wales. It is the first tunnel in the UK to use radar for
    Read More
  • January 31, 2012
    Slow adoption of European VMS harmonisation
    Alberto Arbaiza, ES4-Mare Nostrum Chair, Directorate General of Traffic, Spain and Antonio Lucas-Alba, ES4 Secretariat, INTRAS, University of Valencia, Spain write about progress towards variable message sign harmonisation in Europe . Particularly in Europe, national road administrations have been faster at generating and adopting new road signs than the standardisation process has been at generating them.
    Read More
  • August 21, 2017
    Cost benefit goes under the microscope
    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

Highlighted Content