Highways England Sued Over Smart Motorway Danger

[irc]

Four deaths in 3 crashes over 10 months on one 16 mile stretch of motorway. Speaks for itself.

"The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that four people have now been killed on the M1 in just 10 months after they became stranded then hit by oncoming traffic in a live lane which used to be the hard shoulder.

All the collisions took place after motorists failed to reach a safe lay-by - or Emergency Refuge Area - on a 16-mile northbound stretch of the M1."



https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/31/smart-...

[jamei303]

Twice in 24 hours?

[trilly]

I have Highways agency on Speedial in the car as I travel up and down the M3 to and from London every weekday and often see stranded vehicles. I know when I call them they don't know as if they do they let me know, which is rare.

What really gets me in in the 2 years I have done the journey, the varible matrix signs to the side of the motorway I have only ever seen illumated twice while the overheard ones are often used in places there is a gap of around a mile and drivers think the speed/limit danger has passed as no more signs. Its so dangeous.

[bartelbe]

It is doing things on the cheap, there was a reason Motorways were originally designed with hard shoulders.

One issue I have coming across is low sun making it very difficult to read some of the overhead gantry designs, similar to phantom aspect on the railways.