‘Radar technology on just 5% of network’

LESS than 5 per cent of England’s 500-mile smart motorway network has radar technology to detect drivers who break down in live lanes, according to analysis released last month.

Highways England figures show the system has only been installed on three sections of motorway, totalling 37 miles.

The government-owned company has pledged to roll out the Stopped Vehicle Detection upgrade on all motorway stretches where the hard shoulder has been converted to a permanent running lane.

This was part of an 18-point action plan launched by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in March 2020 following an “evidence stocktake” amid concerns about incidents where vehicles stopped in traffic were hit from behind.

Installation of the technology has been completed on a 13-mile section of the M3 in Surrey and Hampshire, and 24 miles of the M25.

Radar units installed on roadsides monitor motorway traffic in both directions and are designed to detect a stopped vehicle in around 20 seconds.

An alert is sent to a control room operator who can view the incident on a camera, activate lane closure signs and dispatch personnel.

Smart motorway safety is back in the spotlight after a coroner concluded last month that they “present an ongoing risk”.

He said the lack of a hard shoulder was a clear factor in the deaths of Jason Mercer, 44, and Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, hit by a lorry after they pulled over via a minor M1 shunt in June 2019.