A South Yorkshire police commissioner has railed against the use of smart motorways by calling upon Grant Shapps, the UK's Secretary of State for Transport and Highways England to “abandon” them entirely.
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), made the statement after an occupant of a stationary car in a live lane on the northbound M1 just outside of Sheffield had to be airlifted to hospital after an HGV collided with it last Friday (Feb 12).
The accident is currently subject to a police investigation, Highways England said.
This particular stretch of the M1, between Barlborough and Aston, has had its hard shoulder replaced by an active 'smart' lane and drivers who break down are encouraged to pull in to emergency stopping places.
With regards to the stretch of Smart motorway, Dr Billings said: “I said that as long as it remained in place it was a constant danger to anyone unfortunate enough either to break down in it or to be travelling along it when another vehicle had broken down.
“Since then we have had two coroners raise serious concerns about the smart motorway in South Yorkshire and I have written to the Secretary of State for Transport expressing my grave concerns.
“Last Friday we had a further incident of a heavy goods vehicle colliding with a stationary car in a live running lane,” he added.
Smart motorways, first used on the M42 in the West Midlands in 2006, were initially rolled-out to alleviate congestion by turning the hard shoulder into a live traffic lane, thus improving the flow of traffic.
But a series of fatal accidents has ignited a nationwide debate about whether they should be abolished altogether.
Last month, John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation, said smart motorways were dangerous and that they were putting both drivers and police at risk: “They are a death trap. The country, police and we have been completely misled about the technology.
“A poorer system has been introduced and continues to be rolled out despite the clear dangers that they present. Smart motorways are inherently dangerous.”
In March 2020, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps released an 18-point plan to ensure ‘dynamic hard shoulder’ motorways are abolished with an aim to end driver confusion and that ‘stopped vehicle detection’ technology – a radar-based system which spots stationary vehicles – would be rolled out across the whole smart motorway network within 36 months.
The plan also included increasing the amount of safe emergency stopping areas for drivers and committing £5 million to a campaign aimed at increasing drivers’ awareness and understanding of smart motorways and how to use them confidently.
Shapps said at the time: “I’ve been greatly concerned by a number of deaths on smart motorways, and moved by the accounts of families who’ve lost loved ones in these tragic incidents.
“I commissioned an urgent stocktake of smart motorways to provide a clearer picture of their safety and make recommendations on next steps.
“That work has now concluded and overall, evidence shows that in most ways smart motorways are as safe as or safer than conventional ones.
“But I am clear that there is more we can do to raise the bar on smart motorway safety. The extended package of measures I have set out will help rebuild public confidence in our motorway network and ensure that safety is firmly at the heart of the programme,” Shapps added.
Responding to Dr Billings, a Highways England spokesperson told the BBC: “We want to do everything we can to make our motorways as safe as possible.
“We are aware of the ongoing concerns from Dr Billings and others and we are working hard to deliver the improvements set out in the transport secretary's action plan.”
Keyword: Police commissioner thinks smart motorways should be abandoned so "more serious injuries or fatalities" can be avoided