Smart motorways are ‘useless’ because drivers won’t use hard shoulder, says AA

♦ So-called smart motorways are being rendered ineffective as drivers are reluctant to use the old hard shoulders because of safety concerns, it has been claimed.

The AA said many motorists were refusing to use the inner lane of the roads due to fears of hitting brokendown cars, which it suggested “largely renders them useless”.

It comes as hundreds of miles of motorways where the hard shoulder has been removed are set to be overhauled.

Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, has reportedly ordered more emergency lay-bys to be built. They are currently about 1.5miles apart on smart motorways, but numbers could be increased so they are only a few hundred yards apart.

Motoring groups have claimed the lack of hard shoulders, which were designed to cut congestion, makes broken-down vehicles vulnerable if they cannot reach a refuge.

In 2016, MPS on the transport select committee called for the smart motorways project to be scrapped.

According to The Times, a Highways England review of one smart motorway found motorists were “less keen” to use the hard shoulder after it was converted into a normal lane.