SMART MOTORWAYS KILL PRESS RELEASE
Date: 28/02/22
Action to Mark 3rd Birthday since Jason’s Unnecessary Death
Large Digital Screen booked again, a year down the line.
A large digital ‘Advan’ will be parked outside Police HQ, Carbrook Hall Rd, Sheffield S9 2EH on Wednesday 2nd March 2022. The Advan will arrive at this location at approx. 9.30am. Having started its journey from our home in Rotherham at 9am.
I will be travelling in the vehicle to the Police HQ where I will accept all invitations for interviews and photos, for as long as required. Once interviews, etc. are finished, the vehicle, with me in it, will be travelling to Junctions 30/31 and Woodall services as a mark of respect to Mrs Nargis Begum and Mr Derek Jacobs who were also killed by smart motorways.
I used this Advan to bring attention to the subject of corporate manslaughter charges in relation to Jason and Alexandru’s deaths, exactly a year ago. A year on, after a promising start to the corporate manslaughter investigation, we have now been told that the “crime doesn’t fit the law” not that there was no crime!
Two of the slides will be virtually the same slides used last year, with some pertinent alterations. There will also be other slides this time, asking questions of National Highways
Nobody likes smart motorways, but the whole subject of smart motorways is ‘politically uncomfortable’ for a lot of relevant departments/organizations/bodies. The government is the overall boss of a lot of these organizations and/or they are in quangos/funding agreements with them.
Does that mean we continue to allow deaths just because it’s a “difficult subject to discuss”?
I have only been on any type of motorways once since my husband was killed and that was to get to the protest in November, I’m scared of spending the day on smart motorways, but I feel it’s necessary to keep the pressure on, because now the wider public know what these things are, the shortfalls, draw backs and glaring faults, National Highways are having to defend the undefendable.
Claire Mercer – Smart Motorways Kill
SMART MOTORWAYS KILLS PRESS RELEASE
Notes to Editors:
• Claire Mercer can be contacted via the following method in the first instance: info@smartmotorwayskills.co.uk
• We aim to be flexible with the agenda for the day and may add other stops to the route, possible The Stockyard, Rotherham, S66 8HN, etc.
Smart Motorways Kills was founded following the death of Jason Mercer (44) on the ‘Smart Motorway’ at M1 J34 on the 7th June 2019. A minor accident escalated into the death of 2 men. From very early on into the investigation into Jason’s death it was obvious that there were many serious safety issues in the design and implementation of Smart Motorways. As such Jason’s widow, Claire, founded the campaign in the hopes of avoiding further unnecessary deaths. The campaign is bringing a Judicial Review against Highways England and the Department for Transport over the failures in safety and the manner in which the implementation has been handled.
The campaign’s website is www.smartmotorwayskills.co.uk Social media at facebook.com/smartmotorwayskill and twitter.com/Motorwayskill
link to pdf here