Return hard shoulders to all smart motorways: The Yorkshire Post says

The cancellation of planned new smart motorways is an important victory for campaigners against the controversial roads – many of whom have been moved to speak out against them after losing loved ones in accidents that would not have occurred if hard shoulders had been in operation.
The Yorkshire Post
By The Yorkshire Post
Published 17th Apr 2023, 05:45 BST

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced over the weekend that 14 planned smart motorways – including 11 that are already paused and three earmarked for construction – will be removed from Government road building plans, given financial pressures relating to inflation and in recognition of the lack of public trust.

As campaigners such as Claire Mercer have pointed out, while this is an important step forward it is not the end of the matter.

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Around 10 per cent of England’s motorway network is already made up of smart motorways which involve various methods to manage the flow of traffic, such as converting the hard shoulder into a live running lane and variable speed limits.

PABest Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason was killed along with Alexandru Murgeanu when they were both hit by a lorry after stopping on a section of smart motorway on the M1 near Sheffield following a minor collision, protests outside South Yorkshire Police HQ in Sheffield, to mark the third anniversary of her husband's death. Picture date: Wednesday March 2, 2022.PABest Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason was killed along with Alexandru Murgeanu when they were both hit by a lorry after stopping on a section of smart motorway on the M1 near Sheffield following a minor collision, protests outside South Yorkshire Police HQ in Sheffield, to mark the third anniversary of her husband's death. Picture date: Wednesday March 2, 2022.
PABest Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason was killed along with Alexandru Murgeanu when they were both hit by a lorry after stopping on a section of smart motorway on the M1 near Sheffield following a minor collision, protests outside South Yorkshire Police HQ in Sheffield, to mark the third anniversary of her husband's death. Picture date: Wednesday March 2, 2022.

There have been long-standing safety fears following fatal incidents in which vehicles stopped in live lanes without a hard shoulder were hit from behind.

Mrs Mercer’s husband Jason is among the victims. He was killed alongside another man, Alexandru Murgeanu, in 2019 when they were hit by a lorry on the M1 near Sheffield after they stopped on the inside lane of the smart motorway section following a minor collision.

She and others including the AA wish to see the return of hard shoulders on all stretches of motorway.

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Motorists will rightly ask if new smart motorways aren’t suitable for construction, why existing stretches should continue without the basic safety measure of a hard shoulder. The direction of travel on this issue is clear – further action should not be delayed.

Related topics:Yorkshire PostPrime MinisterMotoristsRishi SunakEnglandGovernmentSheffield