Nothing smart about death-traps
RTHISWEEK I want to hand part of this column over to you. Below is a hair-raising personal testimony to the death-trap dangers of so-called “smart” motorways.
This week the Commons Transport Select Committee said the rollout of these utterly illconceived roadways – where the previous refuge of the hard shoulder is transformed into a “live” lane – should be halted immediately.
The move is prompted by a series of completely avoidable deaths after drivers who broke down on smart motorways and had nowhere to pull over safely were struck from behind by other vehicles, usually heavy lorries.
You will need a strong stomach to read on. Here you go...
About 10 years ago I almost got crushed by a lorry on the M42. The driver had no idea I was there or that the hard shoulder was being used as a smart motorway. I’d crashed my car into the barrier. If I hadn’t, I think I would have died.
My wife had a tyre blowout. A lorry hit her car and pushed it 500 yards up the motorway. I can’t believe people were paid wages to make the decision to get rid of the hard shoulder.
I broke down at midnight on the M6 a few years ago with no
warning. I had no lights, no hazards, nothing. I was stranded in a live lane and there was a 10ft sheer drop the other side of the barrier. I HAVE NEVER FELT SO SCARED IN MY LIFE.
We broke down in a live lane and it was impossible to get behind the barrier because it was was so overgrown with brambles, nettles etc.There was literally no space to stand. The experience was incredibly scary.
These were the lucky ones. Many have died.
Sally Jacobs joined us on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain. She lost her husband Derek two years ago.
His van blew a tyre on a smart section of the M1 and he was forced
to stop on the inside live lane. Derek had seconds to live. He got out immediately to take refuge behind the barrier but was struck from behind by a van and crushed to death.
His fate demonstrates that even if safety cameras are working (and they often aren’t) and operators in control centres close the lane by illuminating red crosses on overhead gantries, the risk of death begins the instant a vehicle is forced to stop in a live lane.
Tyre blowouts and electrical failures make it impossible to “limp on” to an emergency layby so you can be struck at any moment.
Will it take a stranded coachload of children to be hit by a heavy lorry to stop this nonsense? I pray not. Bring back the hard shoulder – TODAY.