If the Government ignore this, then doesn't that set them up for a massive lawsuit when the next person is killed?
Funny you've mentioned this as i'd travelled down the all new M23 section today towards Cowfold / southbound,and i thinking good luck if you breakdown is this zone.Lots of camera signs so big brother is watching us.
It's just shorterm thinking because they don't want to make the proper investment that's required as usual.but in the meantime we've just sent a another large cheque overseas,FFS
What this guy said. I can’t believe smart motorways were ever thought to be a good idea. Goes to show how far from reality the powers that be are
Smart motorways are another example, of a few officials saying what good for us. Unfortunately however many deaths and serious injuries happen as a result. I very much doubt if Highways England will reverse its decision to install these death traps. I will not drive in the inside lane on smart motorways, and dread the thought of ever breaking down on one.
Unfortunately smart motorways and dumb people don’t mix well. A few years ago I was a passenger in a car driven by my friend when she ran out of petrol on a “smart” stretch of the M1 near Northampton. Worse still, it was on the approach to a slip road to leave the motorway. Despite the fact that the Highways Agency “closed” the lane by putting a red “X” on the overhead gantries, us putting the hazard lights on, putting a red warning triangle out and stranding behind the barrier waving our arms to warn other drivers, at least 3 vehicles almost rear ended the car, one in particular coming to a screeching tyre-smoking halt only a few metres short of contact. Madness.
The smart motorways are really about money, or lack there being invested in road networks for motorways and more widely, far cheaper to do this than try and widen large sections. I think that there is an aspiration to reduce the volume of traffic from many European governments, but pre covid lockdowns nobody has found a way; lockdown approach probably not viable from an economy perspective long term
Wind your neck in. It was a hybrid hire car, she was told it had a full tank and with it being an unfamiliar vehicle she misread the gauge (she thought it was showing how much electric power was remaining). She was also dropping off her dog at her aunt’s house in advance of being admitted to hospital for tests/treatment for an MS-like condition (NMO) that could leave her paralysed, blind, deaf, unable to speak, infertile or a combination of any of those things so perhaps she was a little distracted.
SMART Motorways are a way of increasing traffic capacity without changing the boundary fences. By working within the existing boundary it avoids the need for land purchase and Public Inquiry. Lengthy processes with likely delays and Judicial Reviews.
My experience of smart motorways is limited to a stretch of M3. There were very few vehicles on the inside lane (Despite signs saying to use it) So all the cost of the "upgrade" was tantamount to useless. A smart motorway would be one that identified and removed middle lane hogs; something rarely seen on the roads across the channel.
I've rebranded them chloroform roads,perhaps it's time we had tolls on certain roads these days like our counterparts throughout europe, i fully understand this would throw users on the back roads and congest them much more.What highlighted this problem for me was at christmas time down at the Dover docks & the Manston carpark with what 5k of trucks parkup over a two week period,so that means on a quick calculation 120k plus on our roads every year damaging the surface without any extra payment from overseas drivers & Uk.
Fair point. Now that we are out of Europe, it does seem reasonable for foreign registered trucks to have to buy a carnet of some description. UK registered lorries have to pay road tax, so why shouldn't foreign registered trucks pay something? Yes, Europe may retaliate but since more foreign trucks come here, than UK trucks go there, who cares?
I have to say for the way you wrote “ A few years ago I was a passenger in a car driven by my friend when she ran out of petrol ” I understood that to be running out of liquid petrol we know, not also electric. As if someone had run out of normal petrol they would be irresponsible going on a motorway. Cut some slack as the writing is not clear.
