Smart motorways are risky for road users

THE BBC news says the building of “smart motorways” is to stop, pending an investigation of safety concerns. A spokesman for the DfT claimed it knows these motorways are safe but is having difficulty convincing the public.

All very well for him to say, but

it is we, the motoring public, who experience the horrifying events which occur daily where there is no hard shoulder to resort to when things go wrong.

My home is around 80 miles from the start of the M5, 175 from the smart section near Bristol, so I am not a frequent motorway user. However, on one occasion I found myself in lane two, which had a red X above it, which only became apparent when an HGV in front moved to the next lane.

Other HGVs in lane one had made way for it to exit lane two, but were less courteous to me, leaving me in a position of remaining in the closed lane with the possibility of colliding with any stationary vehicle, plus a hefty fine. Of course, I also faced a fine if I stopped.

All these problems must be solved in seconds, so I switched on my left indicator, sounded the horn continuously and moved into the gap in traffic which then appeared.

From the point of view of the DfT, no collision occurred, no one died, so the motorway was safe.

Had I been a less experienced driver, or unaware that drivers of HGVs cannot see a car close in front of them, the outcome of this simple incident could have been a loss of life.

Closing a lane occupied by a broken-down vehicle is essential, but it causes congestion in remaining lanes, worsened because the congested traffic travels more slowly, therefore closer together, making it even more difficult for vehicles to exit the closed lane.

Smart motorways require a different mind-set from standard motorways, in much the same way that city driving is different from negotiating the narrow lanes with passing places common in Cornwall and other rural areas.

I suggest that all those involved in design of these motorways be obliged to drive an elderly car prone to breakdown and drive a full eighthour working day, driving up a smart motorway, then down the other way. They may have a better idea of the hazards of their creation then.

Mike Baker St Austell, Cornwall