‘People aren’t aware of all the dangers they face’
A mum whose partner died while recovering a broken down car, is calling for an end to the roll-out of Smart Motorways, as an MP demands the M20 upgrade is not opened until safety measures are installed. Sam Cockerill’s partner, Steven Godbold, was hit and killed by a lorry on the M25 near Sevenoaks in 2017. The 52-year-old recovery worker was struck as he stood on the hard shoulder on a call out.
The lorry driver, Dariusz Mrozek, received a 22-month sentence for death by careless driving in October 2018. Mr Godbold was killed on a traditional motorway, with a hard shoulder, and Miss Cockerill is worried about what could happen to people when that is removed to make way for the Smart Motorway on the M20. Highways England is turning a six-mile stretch between junction three (for the M26) and five for Aylesford into a Smart Motorway. Instead of a hard shoulder, all lanes will take traffic, but emergency refuge areas have been built in places, at the edge of the carriageway.
This week Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch said she had written to the roads agency in October, asking what plans were in place to install detecting measures on the M20 to spot stranded vehicles.
She says she never had a reply and now wants the opening to be delayed so the safety measures can be added.
This week saw the release of a damning report by MPs on Smart Motorway schemes, released on revealing lives could have been saved if a system to flag up stopped vehicles had been put in place during their construction.
The report came following 38 deaths on the upgraded roads in five years in England and is scathing about the failure of Highways England and the Department for Transport to act amid growing fears.
Miss Cockerill, from Walderslade, said she is afraid more people might experience the same tragedy as her family if more Smart Motorways are introduced.
In a bid to prevent other people from being killed, she has been promoting the Slow Down Move Over UK campaign. It raises awareness of how to deal with hazards in the road. The group was inspired by the Move Over law adopted in the United States, which requires drivers to move into another lane as soon as possible if they see a car stopped on the hard shoulder or a live lane.
The 35-year-old said: “I have been contacting people to try and get them on board.
“The long term goal is to get it as law in the UK.
“Nothing is going to bring Steven back but if we can make people think about what they’re doing on Smart Motorways it could save a life.”
She also thinks drivers should be better informed as to what to do in the event they break down on motorways, especially in live lanes, and is calling for a change to the highway code.
As well as her work to get laws changed, Miss Cockerill works with Campaign for Safer Roadside Rescue & Recovery.
The group is calling on the Government to protect the lives of recovery workers by replacing the amber lights on their vehicles with red warning beacons.
It is also requesting an end to the roll-out of Smart Motorways. She said: “I worry about my loved ones doing long journeys now because of how dangerous the roads are.
“I’m a confident driver but it has affected me.
“If I know I have got to go on a Smart Motorway I stress for days before.”
When Mr Godbold died, he left behind three adult children and a one-year-old baby, Olivia,