New crash horror af ter smart m-way tech ‘fails’

MINISTERS were urged to ‘get a grip’ on smart motorways last night after a second crash in three months where life-saving technology apparently failed to work.

Investigators believe the Stopped Vehicle Detection (SVD) equipment did not spot a lorry broken down on a stretch of the M3 with its hard shoulder removed, the Daily Mail can reveal.

A van smashed into the rear of the lorry five minutes after it became marooned on the inside lane. The driver was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

Witnesses said he was lucky to be alive. Several other cars also crashed in the accident near Lightwater in Surrey last week.

Investigators are checking if radar signals supposed to detect marooned vehicles were blocked by a nearby obstacle such as a bridge. Another theory is that the technology was temporarily down. The crash comes after a woman died in March on a stretch of M4 smart motorway where it is believed SVD also failed.

Pulvinder Dhillon, 68, from London, was killed after her car was struck by a van.

SVD systems are supposed to alert traffic officers to vehicles marooned in live traffic.

If National Highways staff are not alerted to breakdowns, they are unable to put lane closures or warning signals on overhead gantries to protect motorists.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he had demanded answers about the M4 crash but has failed to take any formal action. Critics last night suggested the latest M3 incident could have been avoided if he had stepped in. Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason was killed on a stretch of the M1 with no hard shoulder in 2019, said: ‘The Government needs to get a grip on this.

‘Had action been taken after the M4 incident, surely this M3 one could have been stopped?

‘These roads are just not safe. We can’t carry on like this. We need the hard shoulder back – nothing can replace the safety it offers.

‘Grant Shapps could simply flick a switch to put Red Xs above the inside lane of all smart motorways and restore the hard shoulder.’

Jack Cousens, of the AA, called for an urgent investigation, saying experts ‘must look into this crash and understand why such a large vehicle couldn’t be spotted’.

Nicola Bell, of National Highways, would not comment on the causes of the latest crash but stressed the M3 smart motorway offered ‘reliable journeys’ to thousands of drivers a day.

‘Ministers must get a grip’