Who ever thought up the idea of installing smart motorways?
It shouldn’t have taken the brave actions of people like Claire Mercer, whose 41-year-old husband was killed in 2019 on the MI following alterations, to bring about the Tories' ‘climb down’ on supposed smart motorways.
No new smart motorways are going ahead following the deaths of 79 people on same but what about the existing ones that have taken an age to construct?
Who on earth thought up this hare brained smart motorway idea and at what cost? At what cost to all those who’ve lost their lives? At what cost to the families and loved ones who’ve been bereaved?
How much has it cost for these dangerously designed motorways to be built?
How about the cost to all of those who’ve crawled along these motorways under construction at 50mph, with resultant over long journey times, frustration and sheer disbelief?
Are we now going to have further disruption for who knows how many years before the existing smart motorways have their hard shoulders reinstated?
Not according to Downing Street, which said: ‘Reinstating hard shoulders on existing smart motorways would be ‘too disruptive’ and cost a ‘significant’ amount’. We need to know the names of those who came up with this wondrous smart motorway concept, plus the names of those who agreed with them. It would also be interesting knowing who in government okayed this incomprehensibly stupid, downright dangerous idea.
I thought one had to have intelligence to be an engineer of any kind, let alone a road’s engineer? In this case, evidently not.
And what’s going on in government? I thought ministers and advisors were supposed to possess intelligence plus critical thinking skills? Oh, silly me, once again obviously NOT.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman (whoever he/she may be) has apparently insisted the existing road network is safe. Well it obviously can’t be if the construction of all further such roads has been halted.
Clare Mercer said: ‘It’s the existing roads that are killing us. And I’m not settling for more emergency refuge areas. So it’s half the battle but we’ve still got half a battle to go’. How come so many ‘experts’ appear capable of getting things so wrong to all of our costs? And as ever, no-one appears responsible?