The UK government has announced that it is halting the roll out of so-called Smart motorways, after a series of horrific fatal accidents where broken down vehicles were hit by fast moving traffic.
Insurance Edge called for those senior politicians and road planners involved in creating all lanes motorways to be prosecuted, using duty of care legislation, some years ago. We also called for an end to public sector immunity from prosecution when people die due to poor decision-making. Directors of private companies are prosecuted when workplace accidents occur, the same law should apply to civil servants and senior staff at agencies involved in Smart motorways.
The abolition of the hard shoulder was an extremely stupid decision, even by the low standards of the civil service and money saving politicians looking for quick fixes to congestion.
Here’s the word from the RAC;
Reacting to the news, RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said:
“This is a watershed announcement and a victory for everyone who has campaigned against these motorways that, by their design, put drivers in more danger should they be unlucky enough to break down on one.
“Our research shows all lane running smart motorways are deeply unpopular with drivers so we’re pleased the Government has finally arrived at the same conclusion. It’s now vitally important that plans are made for making the hundreds of existing miles of these types of motorway as safe as possible. The possibility of converting all lane running stretches to the ‘dynamic hard shoulder’ configuration, where the hard shoulder is open and closed depending on the levels of traffic, could be one option the Government considers.”
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