An 18-point action plan to ensure safety on smart motorways has been set out by the UK government.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said work will focus on getting help to broken down drivers quicker and making the schemes less confusing.
This follows analysis commissioned by Shapps which reportedly found that smart motorways are as safe as, or safer than, conventional ones.
According to government data, the risks that are lower on smart motorways compared with conventional motorways include tailgating, rapid changes of vehicle speeds, vehicles drifting off the carriageway and vehicles being driven too fast.
However, the analysis also showed that some risks are higher than on conventional motorways, such as the risk of a collision between a moving and stationary vehicle.
In order to address these risks Shapps has unveiled a package of 18 measures, which includes abolishing “confusing” dynamic hard shoulder motorways and “substantially speeding up” the deployment of stopped vehicle detection – a radar-based system that spots stationary vehicles – so that it is installed across the entire smart motorway network within 36 months.
Shapps said this will enable broken down drivers to typically be detected within 20 seconds, with lanes closed more quickly.
“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,” said Shapps.
The changes will reportedly also ensure that the distance between places to stop in an emergency is reduced to three-quarters of a mile where feasible, so that on future schemes motorists should typically reach one every 45 seconds at 60mph. The maximum spacing will be one mile.
The action plan also includes the installation of 10 additional emergency areas on the existing M25 smart motorway and considering a national programme to install more places to stop where they are more than a mile apart.
Highways England will also investigate what more can be done on sections of the M6 and M1 where there have been clusters of incidents.
Want to learn more about issues, concepts and technologies that are changing the way in which people and goods move around urban environments safely, cleanly and efficiently? CiTTi Exhibition 2020 takes place on the 3rd and 4th of June at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena. Register your interest to attend at www.cittiexhibition.co.uk.
