I've had the dubious pleasure of driving on a smart motorway recently

[gasbanni]

The idiots that came up with idea obviously have never broken down on a motorway, I have once and there was a hard shoulder .......when I got out of the car.......vehicles speeding past closely at 70mph seemed to pose a real threat .......... ( how often do you stand near to vehicles doing 70 ? Not very often ).

With the number of people that have now died on smart motorways I sincerely hope this threat of corporate manslaughter charges come to fruition and some comte members face charges .......some idiots somewhere thought it was a good idea.......

 

[securespark]

The big problem is that the system was not installed and operated as per the initial design.

 

[motorbiking]

I’m afraid they are inevitable and eventually we will make them work better. They do need better stopped vehicle detection and a bit of a crack down on mainly foreign truck drivers who don’t understand that lane one could have a broken down vehicle in.

 

[conny]

Are they still building that section through the Birmingham area of the M6? It's been a roadworks site in that area for about the past 20 years and there are still huge delays even to get to the 'relatively' clear section of the Toll Road.

 

[bernardgreen]

The big problem is that the system was not installed and operated as per the initial design.

And the very big problem is the initial design aim was to get four lanes for the price of three lanes.

From the very beginning of UK motorways the provision of a means of getting emergency vehicles past standing traffic was considered essential, hence a continuous hard shoulder was incorporated.

 

[Munroast]

The really really big problem is the appalling standard of driving, if someone breaks down and comes to a halt, then other drivers should observe this and also slow down and stop when appropriate. The big problem is the amount of people out there who are driving without due care and attention. We need more life long driving bans.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The big problem is the amount of people out there who are driving without due care and attention.

Something I agree completely with, so many put themselves in charge of what is a lethal vehicle (what vehicle is not lethal?), yet their main attention is on anything but their driving.

I find music or any other entertainment when on the move a distraction from the driving. The only exception I make, is when on a long quiet road which has absolutely minimal distractions. Likewise use of mobile phone, even on hands free.

I do wonder about these characters you see, driving in busy centres with their windows wide open, music blasting out. How can they possibly hear what is happening around them? It should be an immediate ban, 'driving without due care'. In busy areas, do dive with my window open, primarily so can hear what is happening around me.

 

[durhamplumber]

The idiots that came up with idea obviously have never broken down on a motorway, I have once and there was a hard shoulder .......when I got out of the car.......vehicles speeding past closely at 70mph seemed to pose a real threat .......... ( how often do you stand near to vehicles doing 70 ? Not very often ).

With the number of people that have now died on smart motorways I sincerely hope this threat of corporate manslaughter charges come to fruition and some comte members face charges .......some idiots somewhere thought it was a good idea.......

I do think your life expectancy is seconds...few minutes at most if you breakdown in a smart m/way.

 

[Lower]

A school friend of my son was one of the earlier deaths on a smart motorway in 2018. Very sad and unnecessary.

 

[bernardgreen]

In 1972 I was working for GEC Elliots commissioning the equipment that operated the Matrix signs and the the emergency telephone system along the M4 motorway. Quite a few hours were spent in the police control rooms ( Kidlington, Almondsbury and Cwmbran ) Without exception the officers considered the hard shoulder as a dangerous place to be working or to be broken down, if I recall correctly after 4 hours on the hard shoulder you were on borrowed time.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

In 1972 I was working for GEC Elliots commissioning the equipment that operated the Matrix signs and the the emergency telephone system along the M4 motorway. Quite a few hours were spent in the police control rooms ( Kidlington, Almondsbury and Cwmbran ) Without exception the officers considered the hard shoulder as a dangerous place to be working or to be broken down, if I recall correctly after 4 hours on the hard shoulder you were on borrowed time.

Yep, even proper hard shoulders are very dangerous places to be, with the poor standard of attention to driving these days. You often see the 'heavies' wondering into the hard shoulder, when their drivers become distracted for a second. Many drivers see nothing beyond the end of their bonnet, until it is far too late to do anything about a situation. I long ago learned to continually scan for trouble to the far distance and behind, for trouble coming up behind me.

Scanning behind regularly, stood me in good stead a few years ago on the M62 round Manchester, in slow moving traffic, whilst towing the caravan back home. I could see a complete nutter in an HGV, swerving from lane to lane, bullying his way to get ahead, behind me. It came to my turn in L1, he became level with my car and began swinging into L1 towards me - I was ready for him and managed to get over to the hard shoulder to avoid him. My car cam managed to record him doing the same to other drivers for the following several miles.

Once back home, I contacted Manchester police and handed the video over to them, with registration number, description of the driver and the company name on the vehicle.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I think it's a dangerous concept at present, perhaps suitable in the future if self-automated vehicles actually happen to any significant extent.

Although all drivers should be paying full attention, we know this isn't the case as touched on above. At present, if your car develops a fault you can hopefully trundle over to the hard shoulder. Not only are you out of moving traffic, it's a slightly safer environment in which to get out, including any passengers. With 'smart' motorways, I think the advice is to trundle over to the verge if possible and get out if safe to do so. However, all it takes is for someone driving in the inner lane not to be paying attention and ...

 

[Trazor]

I think the advice is to trundle over to the verge if possible and get out if safe to do so.

I would get out, move 10/20 yards behind the vehicle, and up the embankment.

No chance of a shunt causing you any major problem.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I would get out, move 10/20 yards behind the vehicle, and up the embankment.

No chance of a shunt causing you any major problem.

You're right, however the point I'm making is with smart motorways, unless you can reach one of the designated safety laybys, part of your vehicle will still be on the carriageway when you're stationery. So if the cars behind you aren't paying attention there's a greater chance of impact before you even get out the vehicle, whereas with hard shoulder roads you are at least off the main thoroughfare before you start getting out. And if the drivers that were behind you aren't paying attention, they pass you.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

You're right, however the point I'm making is with smart motorways, unless you can reach one of the designated safety laybys, part of your vehicle will still be on the carriageway when you're stationery.

If you can get to one on a Smart Motorway - the refuges are much safer than breaking down on normal motorway, where you can get onto the hard shoulder. Of course the risk on an SM, is that you may break down in L1 far from a refuge.

I have had a few breakdowns on motorways in my driving career, always managed to get to the hard shoulder. The most frightening was when a new car suddenly lost all power when I was tramping along in L3. I was lucky because the traffic was reasonably light at the time and I was able to let it roll in onto the hard shoulder. The ECU had failed completely and I had to be towed off.