Smart motorway death toll rises
Latest available figures on deaths on smart motorways shows the number of fatalities rose to 14 in 2019, compared to 11 the year before. Researchers at the Sunday Times says these figures were not published by the Department for Transport in its annual report on road casualties. The figures were found in the Stats-19 databased […]
Highways News journalist explains smart motorways on Radio 2
Highways News co-owner Paul Hutton has appeared on national radio to discuss the ongoing debate about the safety of smart motorways. Hutton, a regular on radio stations across the country as a go-to commentator on transport technology matters, was approached by Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show to give his views on the concept, implementation and […]
HE referred to CPS over smart motorway death
A coroner has ruled that Highways England should be investigated over possible corporate manslaughter charges relating to a woman’s death on a smart motorway in South Yorkshire. 62 year old Nargis Begum from Sheffield died on the M1 after her car broke down on a stretch with no hard shoulder and her car was hit […]
Survey “reveals UK drivers’ lack of smart motorway knowledge”
A new survey of more than 7,000 British motorists has found one in four of those questioned don’t understand when they can or can’t use the hard shoulder on a smart motorway, and nearly half don’t know you could get points for driving under a red X. The Halfords Roadworthy Quiz tested 7,100 people’s knowledge […]
Shapps criticises smart motorway education
The Transport Secretary believes the rollout of smart motorways was “entirely wrong” and dynamic hard shoulders are “insane”, while bringing forward the date for the completion of the stopped vehicle detection installation. The Telegraph quotes Grant Shapps’s comments to the Transport Select Committee in which he said drivers still don’t know how to use smart […]
ITS (UK) and ITS Australia announce new webinar series, beginning with one about smart motorways
The ITS Societies in Australia and the United Kingdom are getting together for a series of webinars comparing and contrasting different aspects of traffic technology implementation in the two countries. The monthly ITS2 live events will take place at breakfast time in the UK and evening in Australia, however they will be recorded and made […]
Survey suggests two thirds of people think smart motorways less safe
A survey by the polling company YouGov suggests the vast majority of drivers think all lane running motorways are less safe than motorways with a hard shoulder. 44% of those asked said they ware “much less safe” and another 20% “a little less safe” with only 7% thinking they are much more or a little […]
HE “working hard” on smart motorway concerns
Highways England has responded to concerns about the safety of smart motorways by insisting that in most ways they are as safe, or safer, than conventional ones. Over the last week a coroner and Police and Crime Commissioner have both questioned the use of the hard shoulder as a running lane, in reaction to the […]
South Yorkshire Police Chief calls for end of smart motorways
The Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire has written an open letter to the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, and Highways England, calling for smart motorways to be abandoned “before more lives are lost”. Dr Alan Billings wants all-lane-running stretches such as that along part of the M1 past Sheffield to have the hard shoulder […]
HE should “maximise safety of smart motorways” – Lawyer
A leading personal injuries lawyer has told Highways News he does not think that Highways England is at risk of being found guilty of corporate manslaughter over deaths on a smart motorway, but that the government-owned company will need to consider the issues and determine if anything further can be done to maximise the safety […]