PLUS CLASSIC OWNERS REACT TO NEW SMART MOTORWAYS PLAN
Part-time shoulders to be scrapped – but are refuge areas the answer?
Agovernment statement revealed on 12 March promises to end the use of ‘confusing’ part-time hard shoulders on so-called smart motorways, following 38 deaths in the last five years.
In its 18-point action plan, the Department for Transport (DfT) says that, among other changes, all ‘dynamic hard shoulder running’ smart motorways – currently spanning 66.5 miles in length – that sometimes use the hard shoulder as a live traffic lane will be replaced by refuge ‘escape’ areas for brokendown vehicles by March 2025; ten more such areas will appear on the M25 during this time and tracking of broken-down vehicles will also be increased.
The DfT said: ‘The simple solution to end this potential for confusion is to convert the hard shoulder permanently into a traffic lane. This is known as “all lane running” and has been the standard for smart motorways since 2012. We are announcing that we will convert all existing dynamic hard shoulder smart motorways into all lane running.’
The M1, M4, M5, M6, M42 and M62 eastbound currently operate stretches of part-time hard shoulder; in five years’ time, they will be ‘all lane running’ smart motorways but with refuge escape areas in place of conventional hard shoulders. Gaps between these areas can be as little as 110 yards but as much as 2.5 miles.
Lobbyists, clubs and enthusiasts have already said that these conversions don’t go far enough and that, where old hard shoulders exist, they should be reinstated.
Club Peugeot UK chairman, Ian Kirkwood, said: ‘Gantry speed cameras and variable speed limits do far more to help the flow of traffic than part-time hard shoulders. Using hard shoulders part-time should be suspended immediately to help keep people safe.’
The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs has echoed Ian’s concerns; communications officer, Wayne Scott, said: ‘ We hope that the 18-point plan released by DfT is constantly reviewed to ensure effectiveness.’
East Coast Retros co-founder, Michael Carpenters, whose members travel all over the country to attend shows, agreed that the plans don’t go far enough: ‘Anything that does away with the current method is good – smart motorways should never have got the green light in the first place. ‘The trouble is that there won’t be an escape route all along a motorway, just certain places, so if you break down where there isn’t one, you’re still no safer. I don’t think refuge areas solve the problem.’
Wartburg Trabant IFA Club chairman, Mel Holley, wants the programme to be extended further to cover the rest of the road network where broken-down classics might be vulnerable. He said: ‘ While the design of smart motorways is not necessarily unsafe, sadly non-classic vehicle drivers’ abilities often fall way below that which they would have to demonstrate on taking a driving test, which makes them a danger.
‘This also applies to other ‘fast’ roads – mainly dual carriageways – which don’t have hard shoulders or matrix signs, and are often an alternative to motorways. It’s time that similar safety improvements are carried out to them, too.’