We were asked for our thoughts on 3 main points. Below is the basic premise of our evidence. although there was more detail and emotion in the actual recounting to the committee. Along with asking the purpose of this lasted review as previous PTSC have already found s.m are a very bad idea, but the PTSC has no enforcement powers.
(there wasn’t a meaningful reply to this question)
• Dangers of smart motorways.
Dangers very well publicised, how can removing the only safety feature in a dangerous environment not be dangerous? But compounding that is the lack of education on a fundamental change to the country’s roads, and not taking into consideration driverless vehicles, electric vehicles, the stopping distances of HGV’s and the fact that our motorways are officially nominated “European trunk roads”
We don’t know how to use these roads, so how do foreign truck drivers?
• The actions the Department and Highways England are taking, and should take, to address the problems relating to these motorways.
Turn off the first lane
• The questions you think the Committee should put to the ministers and officials responsible.
Would these deaths have happened if there had been a hard shoulder: No.
This has been stated by judges and coroners in numerous deaths on smart motorways. There’s no defence passed this point. These deaths were ruled unlawful with H.e at least partly to blame. The government/dft/H.e can’t just keep killing people, in full view of the law because it is more convenient for their budget!
A direct result of this point therefore is, Smart motorways contravene article 2 of human rights act (right to life & not to be killed by the state)
They are also total breach of Highways England’s legally binding duty of care and public sector equality duty under the Equality Act.
A government’s duty is to protect it citizens.
How were s.m even implemented in the first place? Why is it even being debated? Why hasn’t it been stopped now dangers are known?
Other than budget: Why were ERAs reduced from 600m from the trial to greater than 2.5miles in some areas?
Why were SMs rolled out without SVD tech in some routes, when SVD was a key premise of having it signed off in the first place?
What provision is in place for a disabled individual who may not be able to exit the vehicle and over a barrier?
If an ERA is occupied, and another vehicle needs to stop, what is expected to happen?
HE adopted “Safe Systems Practice” in 2015; it has been acknowledged internationally as best practice since at least 2008. How does the decision to implement ALR SM reconcile with Safe Systems?
Has consideration been given to use of controlled motorways as the preferred SM? If so, why have ALR been preferred to CM?
The stocktake talks about the fact that one in 12 motorway fatalities occur on a hard shoulder and it is stated that the hard shoulder is not an entirely safe place. Is there any data about the number of near misses? How many serious collisions have been avoided by the presence of a hard shoulder?
Emergency vehicles – how will emergency services be able to respond to incidents if there is 4 lanes of stationary traffic?
The stocktake report says that to reinstate the hard shoulder would reduce the capacity of a smart motorway. Would this reduction in capacity be a bad thing? How does the decision to increase capacity, tie in with the climate change obligations? Where does increasing capacity on roads sit in terms of social tolerability, given the concerns around climate change?
Are ALR SM a permanent solution being proposed by HE?
What is the plan for electric cars in the future? (how do you move/charge hundreds of cars that have been stuck for hours and now out of charge?)
The parameters of this review should include the unmoderated opinions of the EM services. But will they be free to give their honest uncensored views.
A comment we get thrown at us by road users who seemly don’t pay attention to the roads they use is ‘A’ roads don’t have hard shoulders. If there is no difference between a motorway and an ‘A’ Road, why are there no Regional Control Centres, no gantries, crash barriers and Highways England Traffic Officers patrolling the ‘A’ Road network?
Also on most A road its possible to pull onto the grass verge out of the path of traffic, but this is not an option on s.m as they have crash barriers hemming you in.