Breakdown firms snub smart motorways
Recovery firms reveal reluctance to stop in closed lanes
RECOVERY firm technicians are not permitted to stop and help motorists whose vehicles have broken down in lanes that have been closed with ‘red X’ signs on smart motorways, a recently uncovered set of industry guidelines has revealed. Instead, operatives must wait for police officers or Highways England staff to close the lane with emergency vehicles, or tow broken-down cars to a refuge area, before they can begin helping stranded drivers.
The ‘best practice guidelines’ from the SURVIVE Group – comprising the Home Office, senior police officers, Highways England and major recovery firms – says breakdown operatives should “never work in a live lane of a motorway unless the lane has been closed by a Police vehicle, HE [Highways England] Traffic Officer vehicle or Impact Protection Vehicle. When working on smart motorways you should only provide service if the casualty vehicle is situated in an SOS Area or if the lane has been closed as above. Do not rely on a red X closure sign.”
While it is illegal to drive in closed ‘red X’ lanes, 180,000 motorists received warning letters in the 18 months between 2017 and summer 2018 for the offence, which is now enforced by cameras and can result in three penalty points and a £100 fine.
In September last year, accident data revealed the number of fatal motorway collisions increased by a fifth in 2018 over the previous year, while a report written for Highways England and unearthed by the AA found that breaking down in the live lane of a smart motorway during off-peak hours is 216 per cent more dangerous than doing so on a conventional motorway.
Highways England’s chief executive Jim O’Sullivan previously told the Transport Select Committee that dynamic smart motorways – which open the hard shoulder to traffic during times of congestion – are “just too complicated for people to use”.
Proponents of smart motorways claim the roads are a cost-effective way of increasing traffic capacity, highlight that motorways are the safest type of road in the country, and cite evidence that smart motorways are safer than conventional motorways in some ways.
That hasn’t stopped Transport Secretary Grant Shapps ordering an investigation into the roads, telling MPs: “We know people are dying on smart motorways.” Rotherham MP Sarah Champion, meanwhile, recently said: “There is no evidence that shows me ALR [all-lane running] can ever be delivered safely. I strongly believe the government must stop the rollout with immediate effect.”
A spokesperson for Highways England told Auto Express: “The Transport Secretary has asked the Department for Transport to carry out, at pace, an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about smart motorway safety. We are committed to safety and are supporting the Department in its work.”