Smart motorways should be stopped immediately to save lives - YEP letters

The controversy relating to smart motorways will trundle on and on unless some common sense is applied.
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Shaun Kavanagh, via email

The Yorkshire Evening Post report on January 30 by Rebecca Marano outlines why Highways England has “got it wrong”.

They have been criticised from within the House of Commons, by the police, the AA, the RAC and Sir Mike Penning, who initially authorised the scheme but who now states he was misled saying smart motorways are now endangering lives. So the criticism of Highways England is more than justified.

Smart motorways should be stoppedSmart motorways should be stopped
Smart motorways should be stopped

Can all the above institutions be wrong? Of course not.

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To remove the hard shoulder of a motorway, designed as an emergency safety area for breakdowns etc, has already caused unnecessary deaths.

Undoubtedly further death will occur in addition to the 38 people who have already lost their lives in the last five years.

One death was unacceptable but 38 is inexcusable. How many more people have to die? How many near misses have there been? It is reported the number of near misses has risen 20-fold in the last five years and is ever increasing.

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There can be no justification for continuing the use of hard shoulders as a driving lane. How would the emergency services and rescue vehicles reach people in need of assistance if not able to use the hard shoulder?

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It is an absolute nonsense to use hard shoulders as a fourth lane. If motorway users don’t feel safe on these roads, and many don’t, then that says it all.

Anyone with even half a brain can see motorways without a hard shoulder are dangerous and are restrictive for emergency and other rescue services.

If a fourth lane is required then build them but don’t threaten the lives of travellers in order to save money by adopting a dangerous smart motorway approach.

They should be discontinued immediately in order to save lives.

David Speight , Tingley

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Last week BBC Panorama’s topic was the danger of smart motorways.

There was no mention of the majority of drivers on motorways having never had any training in motorway driving.

I am aware that learner drivers since June 2018 can take lessons on motorways if the vehicle is fitted with dual control. This is not as yet compulsory nor is it part of the driving test.

The programme did ask two people what they knew of smart motorways - they had no idea, yet they had just left one.

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Since the introduction of motorways we have allowed drivers to use them with no training. The minister who gave the go-ahead stated it was not the plan he agreed to. So who changed the mode, for example safe areas from being 600m to 2.5miles apart?

Not only that, they also do not have the radar system to find broken down vehicles that are dependant of cameras like this and the recovery can take more than 30 minutes.