4 Do theyactuallymake a difference?
Thefirstsmartmotorwaywasa stretchofthe
M42,openedin 2006 .HighwaysEnglandsaysthat
thenumberofaccidentsonthatstretchhashalved(and
accidentshavebeenlesssevere)while“journeyreliability”
hasimprovedby22%.JourneytimesontheJ23-J27stretch
oftheM25havestayedthesamesinceit becamea smart
motorway— despitea 16%increaseintraffic.
5 Sohowdosmartmotorwayswork?
It’sallcameras:CCTVisusedtomonitorthe
motorwayandthe‘smart’bitishowspeedlimits
areadjustedaccordingtotrafficlevels.Theaimistoslow
thingsdownbeforetrafficgrindstoa halt:a 50mphlimit
betweenJ7andJ9canavoidgridlockatJ11.If there’sa
dynamichard shoulder,thatwillalsobeopenedfordriving
whencamerasshowthattrafficisheavy.
6 Dothecamerasmeanmylicence
ismoreat riskona smartmotorway?
If you’respeeding,yesyouprobablywillgetcaught:the
camerasarerear-facingandwillpickupa bike’splate.
If thelimitchangeswhileyou’reriding,youneedto
reacttoit withinthespaceofa gantryortwo.Butas
longasyousticktothevariablelimits,you’reOK.
1 What’sa smartmotorway?
Thereareactuallythreetypesofsmartmotorway.
Acontrolledmotorwayhasthreelanesanda
hardshoulderbutwithvariablespeedlimitscontrolledby
cameras.A motorwaywithadynamichardshoulderhas
thevariablelimitsand,whentrafficisheavy,thehard
shoulderisopenedfordriving,withlaybyscalledEmergency
RefugeAreas(ERAs)foranythingthatbreaksdown.All-
lanerunningmotorwayshavethevariablespeedlimitsand
thehardshoulderisusedfordrivingallthetime,withERAs.
3 How manymotorwaysare like this?
Atthemoment,thereare 25 stretchesofsmart
motorway(totalling 416 miles),with 372 more
plannedoralreadyunderconstructioninEnglandalone,
bringingthetotalto 788 milesby 2025.
2 Isn’tit dangerousto doawaywith
thehardshoulder?
Thisistheconcern.TheinauguralM42smartmotorwayhad
emergencyrefugeareasevery600m;onlaterstretches
they’refurtherapart.If a vehiclecan’tgettoone,it maybe
stuckinanactivetrafficlane,withjustitshazardlightsfor
protection.Fearsaboutsafetyputsmartmotorwaysbackin
thespotlightaftera fatalaccidentinanall-lane-running
sectionoftheM1attheendofMarch,wherea vanstopped
inlaneone— thehardshoulderona conventionalmotorway.
T
helatestschemeto help reducecongestionintheUKis to
createmore miles of‘smartmotorways’,turningthehard
shoulderintoa —switchable—activelane, withvariable
speedlimits to ensuretraffickeepsflowing.
TheChiefExecutiveofHighwaysEnglandrecentlyannounced
almost 400 more miles are being created,withthefulllengthof
theM1, fromLondonto LeedsandtheM6 fromBirminghamto
Manchester,planned.Buthowwillthisaffectbikers?
Are smart
motorways
dangerous?
With 400moremilesof‘smart
motorways’comingtoEngland,
is havingnohardshoulderunsafe? By2025,
one t ird
ofEngland’s
motorwayswill^
be‘smart’
6 | JULY 2019
