Campaigner Claire Mercer, whose husband was killed on the M1 near Sheffield in 2019, has appealed for assistance in “ridding” the UK of Smart Motorways.

In an emotive letter sent to the UK’s transport media, she calls for a new plan of action to bring about a “quicker end” to Smart Motorways.

“The latest Progress Report from National Highways shows that several sections of all-lane-running smart motorway now have a higher rate of killed and seriously injured incidents after conversion to “smart”. Media reports frequently confirm that a high percentage of motorists feel unsafe on motorways without a hard shoulder.

“In the last decade alone, there have been 30 Select Committees, evidence hearings, question sessions, debates, reports, ;stocktakes’ and progress reports on smart motorways. Yet despite a strong public aversion to these roads the only decision ever made has been to keep them. The parliamentary process, left to its own devices, feels toothless in addressing the issue,” she insists.

The DfT, in response, has said the government had recognised public concerns and had already cancelled plans for all new smart motorway schemes.

In South Yorkshire some parts of the smart motorway network, where the hard shoulder has been removed and replaced with a live lane, are having new emergency areas (ERA) installed in a bid to improve safety, but Mrs Mercer points out that it can prove “impossible for some drivers to reach the emergency areas when their vehicle is immobile. ERA’s also do not allow for the physics of 40 tonnes travelling at 56mph, people with restricted mobility, bad weather, poor light, and how quickly the vehicle behind can reach the space you’re in, before you have collected all passengers, exited through the centre of the vehicle and got over the crash barrier.”

“How can we change this situation?” asks Mercer. “How can we achieve a quicker end to Smart Motorways?”

(Pic: SmartMotorwaysKill.co.uk)