National Highways defends safety record of smart motorways

Figures obtained by Panorama revealed hundreds of incidents when crucial safety equipment was out of action, leaving vehicles stranded in fast-flowing traffic. And even a traffic officer who works on the network told the programme he no longer considers smart motorways safe.

National Highways is a Government agency that maintains major routes in England, including smart motorways, which are stretches of road where technology is used to regulate traffic flow and ease congestion. These include 193 miles of all-lane-running motorways where the hard shoulder has been permanently removed to provide an extra lane. A further 63 miles of smart motorways sometimes open the hard shoulder to traffic, while there are a further 140 miles of the network where the hard shoulder has been retained.

Operational control director at National Highways, Andrew Page-Dove, said:

Safety is our highest priority and our motorways are statistically some of the safest in the world, but there is still work to do as every death is a tragedy and every serious injury a life changed. We need to help everyone feel confident when using smart motorways.

The move to smart motorways began in the Midlands on the M42 in 2006, but new smart motorways – including 11 that had already been paused and three new schemes – were halted by the Government in April 2023, with ministers citing financial pressures and a lack of public confidence. Seven of the 14 projects were going to involve converting stretches of motorway into all-lane running roads. They will now remain as ‘dynamic’ smart motorways where the hard shoulder can be opened as an extra lane during busy times.

However, figures released following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show that between June 2022 and February 2024, there were 392 incidents when motorway technology lost power, making it difficult to detect when a vehicle had broken down. Outages in some cases lasted for days. For example, for five days in July 2023 there were no signs, signals, camera or radar at junction 18 on the M6.

Meanwhile, in September 2023, there were no signs, signals or CCTV for five days at junction 22 of the M62. The worst problems were in the latest period covered by the FOI figures. In the six months leading up to February 2024, there were 174 power outages – almost one a day.

However, National Highways argues that reinstating hard shoulders could put more drivers and passengers at risk of death and serious injury. It would also remove vital road capacity. Congestion would increase significantly, with the potential consequence of drivers choosing less safe roads away from the motorway network.

It claims that the hard shoulder is perceived to be a place of safety but, in reality, one in 20 motorway fatalities occur there.

Page-Dove explained that smart motorways were introduced to provide extra capacity on some of the country’s busiest and most congested sections of motorway.

The latest data shows that, overall, in terms of serious or fatal casualties, smart motorways are our safest roads,

he said.