Starting HANDLE
Danny Hopkins breaks down in the middle of the death zone
Acouple of issues ago, we ran a story about so-called ‘Smart Motorways’ and the dangers that they present to anyone who breaks down on one. Well, over the festive break, that ‘anyone’ was me.
I’d just returned my Multipla to the road – new MOT, fresh service, all good. I was accelerating onto the ‘smart’ A14 south of Huntingdon when it lost all power; luckily, I had enough speed to coast to a refuge. Refuge areas are every 1.5 miles on smart motorways and have an emergency roadside phone.
It was quiet, my ‘coast’ was textbook and the AA was prompt. I’d over-filled the Fiat with oil, so the engine management had cut power as
I gave it the beans. By the time the AA arrived, a cooler engine meant that I was able to start it again. The patrolman and I decided to drive to Brampton Services for more investigation. Halfway there, the Fiat cut out again, but this time I was in the mix with lorries and converging traffic. With no hard shoulder, this was utterly terrifying. I was too far from the next refuge bay to contemplate that as an option, so I drifted to the end of an Armco and then on to the grass, with the AA van shadowing me.
We managed to hook the Fiat up to the van, but every second we were there felt horribly exposed; no wonder people have died. I’m here telling you about it, but this was my solo experience, on a quiet day, during the holidays with perfect visibility. If I’d had a full car, in the rain, in the dark, in rush hour, then a terrifying experience could have taken a darker turn.
Smart motorways are a disastrous, cheapskate solution to the cost of building new roads. The people who decided to build them have blood on their hands.
‘With no hard shoulder, it was utterly terrifying’