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smart motorways

One in ten drivers ignore red X signs on smart motorways

15 February 2023

The emergency services and National Highways recently reminded drivers about the importance of responding to red X signs on smart motorways, after it was discovered that one in ten ignore them. The red X sign is used to close a lane in which an obstruction is detected by cameras, such as a broken-down vehicle. Failure to move out of a lane displaying a red X sign can result in fine of up to £100 and three penalty points added to your driving licence. In some cases, more severe fine penalties or court appearances can be enforced. The cameras are able to detect... Read full article

The performance of stopped vehicle detection technology on smart motorways has been flagged in a new report

11 January 2023

A safety report by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has flagged the Stopped Vehicle Detection (SVD) technology used on all lane running (ALR) smart motorways. Although the technology was put in place on all ALR smart motorways six months ahead of the deadline, as of the end of September 2022, the OPR report says that the performance of these systems falls short of requirements. These shortfalls include a significantly higher false detection rate than the standard allows. Performance of the technology was noted to range between 63.8 per cent and 83.5 per cent... Read full article

Smart motorway rollout halted in order to collect safety data

02 February 2022

A recent programme by BBC Panorama highlighted that the figure for people killed on our roads is currently 1,600 a year - the equivalent of three full jumbo jets crashing. It was revealed by presenter Richard Bilton that most refuge areas on smart motorways are still too far apart, and that the radar technology that’s supposed to detect you if you break down in a live lane is only working on a quarter of the network. Following a recommendation by the Transport Committee, the Government has halted the rollout of new All Lane Running... Read full article

Transport Select Committee publishes report calling for no more smart motorways

20 November 2021

A report published by the Transport Select Committee on November 2nd suggests that implementation of new smart motorways should be halted and alternative options explored whilst safety data is collected and analysed. In 2020, BBC Panorama found that 38 people were killed on smart motorways between 2014 and 2019. The report says, "The government and National Highways should pause the rollout of new all-lane running schemes until five years of safety and economic data is available for every all-lane running scheme introduced before 2020 and the... Read full article

The Transport Committee is investigating the safety of Smart Motorways

05 March 2021

Earlier this year (2021) Transport Secretary Grant Schapps expressed his discontent with the expansion scheme for smart motorways to MPs and now The Transport Committee has launched an inquiry, investigating how safe they really are. At the time, the Transport Secretary said, “What I commit to is making sure that the motorways we have in this country are safer than the motorways that came before them. That is the commitment I make. To be robust and clear from the evidence of, sadly, how many people die on our motorways, they are the safest form of... Read full article

Highways England could be found responsible for smart motorway tragedy

24 February 2021

A Doncaster coroner has asked the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider charging Highways England with corporate manslaughter, following a fatal accident on a stretch of smart motorway. Nargis Begum was killed in September 2018, in a collision on the M1 in South Yorkshire, when another vehicle collided with her husband’s car which had broken down. At the time of the collision, Nargis Begum had already exited the broken-down car, which was stranded in a live lane, 16 minutes prior and had been waiting for assistance for a further 6 minutes.... Read full article

Are they really ‘smart’ motorways?

17 February 2021

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has made clear his discontent with the expansion scheme for smart motorways. “I don't want to carry on with what we've seen of smart motorways, the system I've inherited... I wouldn't have gone about it like this, and I don't approve of the fact that emergency areas were being spaced way too far apart. “I've said they have to be ideally three-quarters of a mile apart, no more than a mile, and I've ordered Highways England to get on with it. “Why these things were ever called smart... Read full article

Are Smart Motorways A Good Thing For Your Fleet?

06 March 2017

If you haven’t yet seen a new Smart Motorway in action, you’ve most likely encountered the roadworks that precede them. Several of the UK’s motorways have already been converted to Smart Motorways and there are plans to convert even more. But what are Smart Motorways and are they a good thing for your fleet? What are Smart Motorways? Smart Motorways are sections of motorways that utilise different speed limits to improve the flow of traffic. The aim is to control the flow and speed of traffic so that vehicles approaching slow moving traffic are... Read full article

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