Smart motorway technology is only detecting up to 85 per cent of stranded vehicles, in a further blow to the reputation of the “intelligent transport system”.
Trials of the “stopped vehicle detection” (SVD) radar system – on the M25 – showed that one in seven vehicles were not detected when stationary on the busy road because of “blind spots” and shadows caused by obstacles, according to figures released by Highways England.
The SVD technology uses radar to scan the carriageway, sending an alert to the Highways England control centre when a stranded vehicle is detected, and speed and lane restrictions are implemented depending on the incident.
During the trials, Highways England admitted that the technology had trouble detecting some low vehicles, such as the Mazda MX5 sports car, and that these were a particularly “testing target” for the SVD system.
Furthermore, an analysis published by Highways Magazine stated that the actual failure rate may be closer to 35 per cent because some results were “misclassified” during the trial.
The report in Highways Magazine said that SVD warnings were only sent for 65 per cent of incidents although Highways England has reportedly disputed this, saying the figure should be just over 85 per cent because some incidents were discounted from the research.
However, it still leaves around 15 per cent of vehicles undetected.
Smart motorways, first introduced in the West Midlands in 2006, have been championed by the government with the aim to boost capacity on UK roads by removing the permanent hard shoulder to create an extra lane.
Hypothetically, refuge areas allowing cars to pull over in an emergency are built up to 1.5 miles apart, and variable speed limits are used to keep traffic flowing, lanes are then closed with a red X on overhead gantries if a vehicle breaks down.
The smart motorway system has now expanded to nearly 350 miles of motorways around the country, taking away access to a permanent hard shoulder on large sections of motorways including the M1, M6 and M25.
However, the system has resulted in many serious accidents and fatalities with live-lane hard shoulder drivers sometimes unaware of stranded vehicles, and a campaign to end the use of the traffic management system has been well publicised.
Edmund King, the AA president, said: “This report seems to further undermine the whole safety of smart motorways. If the detection technology is not good enough then we shouldn’t continue to put drivers at risk.
“Until the highway authorities can clearly demonstrate that these motorways really are smart, the rollout should be halted and the hard shoulder reinstated,” he added.
Last month, Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), called on the Transport Secretary and Highways England to “abandon” the smart motorway concept entirely.
Dr Billings said: “I do not believe there is anyone who uses this stretch of the motorway [the M1 between Barlborough and Aston in Yorkshire], as I do, who does not feel anxious when driving along it.
“I am forced to reiterate my concerns and to strongly urge Highways England and the Department of Transport to think again about this type of motorway,” he added.
A Highways England spokesman told The Times: “Stopped vehicle detection is part of a wider system on smart motorways which helps to keep motorists safe.
“Initial trials indicated that more than 85 per cent of incidents were identified — surpassing the benchmark set — and the technology has since been developed to become even more effective.”
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Keyword: Smart motorway technology fails to detect around one in seven stranded vehicles, report says