Smart Motorways: How Safe Are They?
A recent survey has asked drivers about their feelings on smart motorways, with half of those polled saying that they avoid using ‘lane one’ on all lane running (ALR) smart motorways.
All lane running smart motorways have been a hot topic amongst drivers, road safety experts, and fleet owners for some time – since they were first introduced in 2002.
After significant pressure, the government announced changes to safety protocols for smart motorways in 2021. The new rules mean smart motorways cannot open without radar technology in place to spot stopped vehicles.
What is a Smart Motorway?
Smart Motorways were introduced in 2002, with All Lane Running (ALR) versions first opening in 2014. They use traffic management methods including variable speed limits and using the hard shoulder as a running lane to control the flow of traffic in a way that minimises cost, time, and environmental impact.
The benefit comes from the fact that you don’t need to build additional lanes to implement smart motorways, so improvements in traffic flow and management can be made much quicker than if you were building new lanes and making significant changes to motorways.
No new all-lane-running (ALR) motorways are allowed to open without radar technology to spot stopped vehicles on the hard shoulder, which has been a safety concern since Smart Motorways were implemented in the UK.
Highways England is currently upgrading Smart Motorway cameras to enable them to detect any cars driving in closed lanes. This is known as a ‘red X’ violation, which can be enforced by police.
Red X violations will result in drivers being hit with an automatic £100 fine and three penalty points once camera enforcement is operational.
The Smart Motorway Safety Issue
Smart Motorways have been subject to significant scrutiny since their introduction, with ‘improvement measures’ laid out in a Stocktake Report on Smart Motorways in March 2020.
The report outlined an 18-point action plan that needed to be undertaken, including camera improvements and an advertising campaign to inform drivers of etiquette on the ALR roads.
The ALR versions have been linked to more than 38 deaths since their introduction in 2014, with a high-profile corporate manslaughter case referring Highways England to the Crown Prosecution Service in 2021 after motorway monitors didn’t detect that a vehicle had broken down.
Smart Motorways – What’s The Latest?
National Highways has installed 122 enforcement cameras that automatically detect vehicles that ignore red X lane closure signs.
And they’ve also committed to building more emergency refuge areas, with the target being for one to be present every three-quarters of a mile on smart motorways.
There are still calls from some experts to look at other ways smart motorways could be used, perhaps with hard shoulders only being used in severe traffic jams. But for now, smart motorways are a key component of our roads.
How do you feel about smart motorways? Do you think more improvements need to be made to address safety concerns? Let us know in the comments below.
