ON THE RECORD: What recovery services told us...
Edmund King, president of the AA, which has long campaigned against smart motorways, said:
“Being stuck in a live lane is incredibly dangerous. The official advice is to keep your seat belt and hazard lights on and dial 999.
“It is not safe for breakdown organisations to recover vehicles unless the lane is closed and there’s a physical presence sat behind the casualty vehicle – either the Police with blue flashing lights or Highways England Traffic Officers with red lights.
“This highlights the severity of breaking down in a live lane and further emphasises our calls for double the number of Emergency Refuge Areas. Providing drivers with more places of relative safety would reduce the risk of vehicles being stuck in a lane of fast-moving traffic.”
A spokesperson for the RAC told us:
“The safety of our members and patrols is paramount in a breakdown situation, including those on liverunning lanes, and our patrols follow the SURVIVE principles closely.
“For drivers who break down on a live-running lane of a smart motorway, the RAC can only attend once Highways England has made the scene as safe as possible through the closure of lanes with red X signs and the attendance of Highways England Traffic Officers or police officers, to provide protection for both our patrols and customers.”
Damon Jowett, head of service delivery at Green Flag, said:
“Our priority is always the safety of our customers, technicians and other road users. When recovering customers on smart motorways, we will always adhere to best practice and ensure our service provider is accompanied by either the relevant authorities or, if they’re not available at the time, other resources we are able to provide to ensure as safe as possible a recovery can be undertaken.
“Other road user education is also a key factor, and that is why we have been, and continue to be, supporters of the ‘slow down, move over’ campaign.”
“This highlights the severity of breaking down in a live lane and further emphasises our calls for twice as many Emergency Refuge Areas”
Edmund King AA president