The government, in what seems to have been one of its more lucid moments, has announced that no more smart motorways will be created for 5 years whilst the safety issues of existing ones are assessed. 5 years is a long time, too long in my opinion. At least the wholly ridiculous concept is being looked into, hopefully common sense will prevail?
The companies that built them need to taken to court too imo. There were meant to be a lay by every 2 miles (?) when they bid/got the contract and then didn't build them in. They just got got away with it with no penalties and people died because of it.
They were a very bad idea from the start. You can’t choose where you break down and getting across to the hard shoulder is bad enough when other drivers don’t know what you’re doing so expecting to get a failing car or bike or any vehicle to a “safe” refuge is complete madness. Add in the fact that most drivers aren’t concentrating fully and don’t react in time to a stranded vehicle in a live lane and it’s no wonder lives have been tragically lost. #bringbacktheshoulder
I don’t travel on them often, but I’ve often thought uncomfortable at the thought of breaking down, especially if they’re busy... but I wonder how much the failure lies with careless drivers, rather than the design. We often have seen and felt the consequences of poor driving as bike riders... but the accidents on these “smart” roads tend to highlight the consequences of lack of attention and impatience back in the world of 4 wheelers and above. The finger of blame points often at motorcycles as dangerous risk takers if we’re involved in an accident, but it’s the road to blame if the majority of accidents involve cars/trucks?
I have the pleasure of traveling on the M4/M5 Smart m/way near Bristol on a regular basis. If i could have a £ for every time i see some twat driving in the lane with a big frigging red cross over it, i could have an extra holiday every year. Scary stuff.
Poor driving is definitely a major factor in the safety on any motorway, but that poor driving and the danger level it poses is significantly increased on a smart motorway.
Lane discipline, or lack thereof is another issue with smart motorways. The more lanes you give em, the worse it is, dawdling along in lane three when one and two are empty This could turn into rant of the day
The use of the word 'smart' seems like quite the misnomer. I welcome the pause to gather real data but I hope it isn't whitewashed in the end just so some beaurocrat or minister can meet an arbitrary target. If the motorways are so damn smart, how come they don't tell people in the wrong lane to move over.
There’s one similar on the M62 ‘Brighouse’ roundabout that say ‘X’ number of accidents in five years, well the sign has been there 20yrs that I know of so it can’t be ‘X’ then.
It seems to me that the fundamental concept of the 'smart lane' motorway is sound, almost sensible, but ..... BUT, as has been intimated, to work properly it relies entirely on the common sense, awareness and ability of the people that use it. Let's be honest - if the gantry signs say 50 and you've just steamed up 15 miles of 3 lane at the "acceptable" indicated speed of, say, 78mph (within your 10% plus 2) slowing down to 50 is almost like coming to a halt! If every driver - regardless of vehicle type - observed (key word, that!) the real speed limit and drove with the appropriate levels of care and caution there would be far fewer collisions. Care and caution in this sense being - driving at an appropriate speed for the conditions; leaving a suitable gap between the front of your vehicle and the rear of the vehicle in front and being alert to and observant of all road/traffic and weather conditions ...... including signage. Yeah, I know, sounds very 'holier than thou' but when you're in charge of a lethal weapon you really should treat it with the utmost respect. None of that is meant to dismiss the likely shortcomings and very real practical requirements of 'smart motorways', i.e. clear and comprehensive signage; intelligent traffic/speed/weather condition sensors; adequate and effective control room procedures and, probably the most important of all, sufficient easily accessible refuge areas. None of this is meant to dismiss or diminish the anger and frustration of those who have lost relatives in needless and careless collisions anywhere and in particular on smart motorways. But, ultimately, it's almost always down to one thing - human error or inadequacy. The smart motorway just furnishes the environment for the unsmart human to demonstrate his or her true level of ability.
There’s a section j26 chain bar M62 with the first fuck up that springs to mind, heading ‘east’ the turn off is a dual one and is to the M606 which runs parallel to the M62 towards Leed. This area is very nearly gridlocked at times and smart speed restrictions come on but the gantry also issues the same speed restrictions over the link section to the M606 which is always perfectly clear?? Set up by Dickheads again.
I used to pass one every week on the A68 in Northumberland that never changed. It undermines the message. They'd be better off sating something like, 'The accident rate is higher than average for motorcycles on this road - be careful!'
