‘Call 999’ for smart M-way breakdowns

SMArT motorways are so dangerous that drivers must call 999 if they break down on them, a police leader warned yesterday.

Che Donald, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, said even a tyre puncture could be a life-or-death emergency.

He said: ‘It is inherently dangerous, our members are responding to these breakdowns. We know Highways England has a duty to assist, but I think their primary focus is more about the flow of traffic than the safety of people using those roads.’

AA boss Edmund King underlined the breakdown advice, adding: ‘If you can’t get out, keep your seatbelt on, put your hazards on and dial 999. That’s how serious it is.’ It came hours after John Apter, boss of the federation which represents rank and file officers, warned the roads were ‘death traps’. A total of 38 people have been killed in five years.

Mr King also said smart motorways – where the hard shoulder is used as a regular traffic lane to ease congestion – could be obsolete within a decade as they are not suitable for electric cars. He warned: ‘You can’t flat tow some electric vehicles more than 800 metres, some you can’t flat tow at all. So the problem is they will take longer to get off the motorways.’

WITH depressing frequency, 999 calls reporting suspected rapes, assaults and other crimes go unanswered by overstretched police.

Yet drivers whose vehicles break down on smart motorways are now being told to dial the emergency number, rather than wait for help from recovery crews.

Why? Because these multi-billion-pound road upgrades have become death traps.

Introduced to ease congestion, they turn the hard shoulder into a regular lane. Technology and regularly-spaced lay-bys are supposed to protect cars in trouble.

But too often drivers get stranded – becoming potentially lethal obstructions to traffic bearing down at speed. Tragically, 38 people have been killed in just five years.

Isn’t it about time the Department for Transport and Highways England saw the error of their ways? They must urgently reverse the preposterous decision that converted Britain’s safest roads into graveyards.