November 2023, 08:19 | Updated: 28 November 2023, 09:54
Coroners have written to National Highways to express concerns following the verdict of inquests relating to the multiple fatalities on smart motorways.
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The public body charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways is under increasing scrutiny after figures obtained by LBC showed it has spent over half a million pounds on legal costs on eleven inquests.
Eight coroners from across the country have issued a “Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths” directly to National Highways following inquests since 2018 where a motorist or passenger has been killed on a smart motorway.
The campaign group Smart Motorways Kill estimated there have been over 100 deaths linked to smart motorways since 2016, with its founder Claire Mercer saying “many more” have been injured.
Conservative MP Karl McCartney, who sits on the Transport Select Committee, told LBC “the figures are worrying”, adding: “National Highways need to attend coroners’ inquests and make their case, but their case has been built on a false premise for many years.”
LBC can also reveal that the agency, tasked with the implementation and regulation of “smart motorways’, has spent £525,549.25 on legal fees.
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