FOUR OF THE BEST
Smart Motorways: When Technology Fails – Panorama BBC1, 8pm
Smart motorways (or intelligent transport systems) use technology to regulate traffic flow, partly by using the hard shoulder as an extra lane for vehicles. However, a year ago, the UK government announced that it was stopping building any more new smart motorways following concerns about cost and safety. Critics claim that the innovation which was meant to improve safety has actually led to more road deaths. This Panorama investigation looks at instances of smart motorways failing causing catastrophic accidents, and asks if we should we get rid of them altogether.
Pompeii: The New Dig BBC2, 9pm
As the excavation continues, Professor Steven Tuck of Miami University joins the team as he seeks to work out how many people who lived in the ancient city and how many of them might have escaped when Vesuvius erupted and covered the city in lava and ash. An inscription on a tomb suggests Pompeii’s population may have been closer to 30,000, almost three times the original estimate. In neighbouring Naples, Steven discovers the remains of an apartment block, which could be evidence of a building boom in the years immediately after the eruption, as a sudden influx of refugees from Pompeii needed rehousing. Elsewhere, the team find ornate lion– head gutters and an intriguing 2,000– year–old plumbing network.
Murder Case: The Digital Detectives Channel 4, 9pm
This true–crime series revealing the ground–breaking digital techniques that are being used to help police to solve murders on Britain’s streets continues. This evening, we’re up in Angus, Scotland, where the burnt body of a 27–year–old man has been discovered in a remote nature reserve. All forensics were destroyed in the fire, so detectives turn to Police Scotland’s Digital Forensics Unit to help solve the case. In a UK first, they track the suspects through the digital footprint they will think they have destroyed.
Blue Lights BBC1, 9pm
Ahead of Blue Lights’ second series, the drama’s co–creator Adam Patterson said: ”I suppose season one is what it takes to do the job, and season two is about what the job takes from you.” In last week’s opener, we saw response officers Grace, Annie and Tommy beginning to feel the personal and psychological effects of relentless and punishing police work. And now, the loyalist gangland feud turns up the pressure on the trio and the rest of the section even further.