Calls to reinstate hard shoulders on smart motorways are mounting following the release of official safety data.

A third of drivers say they feel less safe on smart motorways compared to three years ago

The newly published fourth stocktake is now out from National Highways following a commitment to issue an annual safety performance report specifically monitoring smart motorways.

The AA said the data shows that several sections of all lane running on the M1 have a higher KSI rate now than before the loss of the hard shoulder. At the same time, a third of radar detection schemes tested failed to meet the standard – two of which failed and worsened in a 12-month period.

Edmund King, AA president, said: “Shockingly, the M62 J10-12 had a system failure for almost a month. This loss of safety technology, which drivers have been asked to put their trust in, meant they were put in unnecessary danger.

“It is little wonder that a third of drivers say they feel less safe on smart motorways compared to three years ago. It is time to accept so-called ‘smart’ motorways has failed and side with the majority of drivers who want the reinstatement of the hard shoulder.”

IAM RoadSmart has also warned that after the many billions of pounds that have been spent on smart motorways, the metrics do not show a safer network compared to what it replaced.

Director of policy and standards Nicholas Lyes said: “It also reveals that on those stretches of all lane running smart motorways without a hard shoulder, the rate of fatal and serious collisions involving stopped vehicles is almost double that of both a conventional motorway and those with a dynamic hard shoulder.

“Given the public’s hostility towards all lane running smart motorways, they will be relieved to know there are no plans to construct any more. However, question marks remain over what to do with existing stretches and how the Government proceeds with future capacity expansion.”

The former Conservative government announced in 2023 there would be no further smart motorways built in England, but a study published by the AA last week found three-fifths of drivers also want the existing smart motorway network converted back to traditional three running lanes with a permanent hard shoulder.

Just 11% said the network should be left in its current state; 9% said that all running lane systems should be converted to ‘dynamic hard shoulder’ schemes and 14% said that they should be turned into ‘controlled motorways’.

National Highways said the fourth year progress report confirms it’s now delivered and completed all its stocktake actions as mandated by the Government.

It’s now installed more than 700 additional signs informing drivers of the distance to the next place to stop in an emergency and upgraded enforcement cameras on smart motorways to enable them to be used to detect vehicles passing under a Red X or entering a lane beyond a Red X. It’s also ensured radar stopped vehicle detection (SVD) is in place on every all lane running (ALR) motorway.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “Safety is our number one priority, and we’re doing everything in our control to make sure our roads are even safer.

“Our latest analysis continues to show that overall, smart motorways remain our safest roads. We have completed all of our stocktake actions including upgrading the technology to detect stopped vehicles and improving response times to live lane breakdowns. On top of this we have made good progress on the delivery of our commitment to install 150 new emergency areas.”