Brakes put on new all-lane running smart motorways

The government has announced that it will pause the introduction of new all-lane running smart motorways for 5 years.

The decision has been made while research is conducted into the safety of smart motorways.

All-lane running smart motorways use the hard shoulder as a permanent live traffic lane to increase capacity and ease traffic, but experts have expressed concern over their safety.

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The recommendation is for 5 years of data to be collected from the smart motorways built before 2020.

BUT hard shoulders won’t be reinstated on current stretches of all-lane running motorways…

It’s essentially a pause on introducing new smart motorways rather than scrapping the system entirely.

MPs had previously expressed concern about the lack of available data on the safety of smart motorways.

If a vehicle breaks down on an all-lane running smart motorway, drivers must aim for the emergency refuge areas.

However, experts have expressed concern over vehicles becoming stranded in fast-moving traffic, with several high-profile fatalities occurring in recent years.

Highways England has confirmed that there are 400 miles of smart motorway currently in operation, with 200 miles of these lacking a permanent hard shoulder.

Plus, 63 miles of smart motorway use the hard shoulder as a running lane some of the time.

Do you or your drivers regularly travel on smart motorways? What do you think of the safety of smart motorways? Let us know at [email protected]