Why weren’t smart m-ways axed decade ago?

CONTROVERSIAL smart motorways should have been scrapped a decade ago, the AA president said yesterday.

Dozens of drivers have been killed on the roads which are supposed to improve traffic flow – with the Daily Mail leading calls for improved safety.

Edmund King told the transport committee: ‘There’s been this sticking plaster approach... we put in a few more [emergency refuge areas] and more technology even though that technology is not working. The decision should have been made ten years ago to stop this.’

Labour MP Sarah Champion also raised the issue in Prime Minister’s Questions – asking Rishi Sunak how he could ‘justify pushing ahead’ with the ‘death trap roads’.

Responding, Mr Sunak said: ‘Safety on our roads is our absolute priority.’