New plans to make smart motorways safer

The M60 between junction 8 for Sale and junction 20 for the M62 at Rochdale is a smart motorway

New plans released by the Transport Secretary look to 'raise the bar' for smart motorway safety on the M62 and others right across the country.

The 18-point plan includes phasing out the dynamic hard shoulders, where the hard shoulder operates part time when not in use as a live lane, while there will be an aim to increase the deployment time of technology to detect 'stopped vehicles'.

The smart motorway designs – which use variable speed limits to reduce congestion and can turn the hard shoulder into an additional driving lane – are already used on sections of major motorways, including the M62.

A new 19-mile section of smart motorway is to be created over the Pennines on the M62 between Rochdale and Brighouse, to link up with other schemes on the M62 creating almost 60 miles of smart motorway between the North West and Yorkshire.

The new plans follow a smart motorway review after the Transport Secretary himself admitted “people are dying” on the new roads. The risk of a collision between a moving and stationary vehicle is higher on a smart motorway than a conventional one.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/130990/smart-motorways-to-be-reviewed-as-transport-secretary-admits-people-are-dying-on-the-new-roads

Grant Shapps, who has served as Transport Secretary since July 2019, said: "We are greatly concerned by a number of deaths on smart motorways and moved by the accounts of families who've lost loved ones in these tragic incidents."

"The overall evidence shows that in most ways smart motorways are as safe or safer than conventional ones, but they are not in every way.”

The plans also include making emergency areas more visible with a bright orange road service and dotted lines, as well as introducing more traffic signs giving the distance to the next place to stop in an emergency. The distance between emergency places to stop would be reduced with a maximum spacing of one mile.

There will be more communication with drivers to ensure motorists feel as safe as possible on smart motorways.

Mr Shapps added: “My point on communication with drivers is important. Motorists could be better informed about this change in our motorways. Many do not know exactly what a smart motorway is, and are not aware of when they are on one or not. We need to tackle the public perception of, and public confidence in, the safety of smart motorways as much as the reality.

“By these measures we ensure safety is at the heart of our smart motorway programme and assure public confidence in the motorway network. We will continue to monitor the data and work with campaigners to ensure that improvements are delivered.”

Between 2015 and 2019, on average eight people a year have died on smart motorways.