National Highways investigates Smart Motorway outage
National Highways says it does not believe there were any injuries or incidents as a result of a software outage on the smart motorway network yesterday (22 February). Operation Control Director Andrew Page-Dove told the BBC that engineers worked to repair the system as soon as possible, and that National Highways had increased patrols and […]
Harris admits SVD might take months more to fully work on smart motorways
National Highways CEO Nick Harris has admitted that smart motorways’ safety technology will not work properly for another five months. The Telegraph quotes Mr Harris’s appearance in front of the Transport Select Committee in which he said, “Many of the schemes are not meeting the very challenging performance specifications we set. It is working and […]
NH told to deliver better performance from Smart Motorway technology
The Office of Rail and Road says National Highways is on course to achieve its overall safety target for the Strategic Road Network in England. The company has also met its Stopped Vehicle Detection technology installation targets; however, the system is not yet meeting performance expectations. This is the first annual assessment from the ORR […]
Berkshire M4 upgrade now fully open
A 32-mile motorway upgrade stretching from Greater London across Berkshire which will cut congestion and further improve journeys is now fully open, National Highways has announced today (Monday 5 December). As part of a phased opening, the eastern section of the M4 between junctions 3 (Hayes) and 8/9 (Maidenhead) has now moved to 70mph. This […]
Research suggests drivers are avoiding inside lane on smart motorways over safety fears
Half of drivers say they frequently or occasionally avoid using lane one on all lane running smart motorways. The RAC, which carried out the research, says this is “a revelation that completely undermines the very reason so many hard shoulders have been permanently turned into running lanes: to increase road capacity”. The RAC spoke to […]
Coroner warns of more smart motorway deaths without education
A coroner has warned that the public needs to be told that nobody may be watching if they break down on smart motorways. The Telegraph reports that Nicola Mundy, senior coroner for Doncaster Coroner’s Court, has written to National Highways to warn that there is a “lack of public understanding” regarding the need to contact […]
National Highways apologises for random lane closures on smart motorways
National Highways has apologised after what it calls “unexpected issues” left motorists seeing random lane closure signs on sections of smart motorway in England. The BBC reports problems were reported by drivers on the M6, M1 and A1(M), with “mile upon mile” of lane closure warnings and “unreadable” overhead signs. Speed limits were placed on […]
Three smart motorway safety improvements achieved, but one missed
National Highways has missed its 10-minute response time target for reaching stopped vehicles on a smart motorway by five per cent, as figures show it is taking 10 minutes 29 seconds to support stranded drivers. The Telegraph reports ten minute target was one of four safety requirements implemented by the Government-owned company to boost protection […]
Truss could make motorway speed limits “advisory” and would scrap smart motorways
The person expected to be chosen as the UK’s next Prime Minister says she’s prepared to look at introducing a German-style system motorways with no speed limits, and will get rid of smart motorways because “the experiment hasn’t worked”. At the final hustings in front of Conservative Members before the leadership ballot closes, Liz Truss […]
National Highways enhances safety on M1 and M6 smart motorways
A review of incidents on the M1 and M6 has led to a range of safety measures being undertaken by National Highways, including a promise of stopped vehicle detection being installed by the end of the month. In March 2020, the Secretary of State for Transport published the Smart motorway evidence stocktake and action plan. The […]