Not so Smart motorways?
ALR motorways come under fire yet again
How to avoid a smart motorway - go underneath it:)
There seems to be some unease in parliament about the roll out of smart motorways, as MPs claim that what was proposed and they agreed to, regarding the implementation of smart motorways, is not what has happened in reality. One of the team, who was instrumental in the smart motorway roll out was Mike Penning MP, chairman of the roadside rescue and recovery group in parliament.
Now even he claims to have been misled about the roll out. Here's a quote from Good Morning Britain which says:
“He was misled, Smart Motorways have been implemented in a way that is vastly different to what was proposed to me back then. I fully support the recommendations [to reconsider them] of the committee and I urge the government to adopt them as a matter of urgency.”
Many MPs and the families of people who have lost their lives on smart motorways are calling for an about face on the roll out as they don't consider them to be safe. This is corroborated by the sad story of Claire Mercer's husband Jason who was killed on an ALR motorway when he broke down and was subsequently struck by a lorry. Both he and Alexandru Murgeanu who was also killed, were unable to make it to the safety of a refuge and there was no hard shoulder to shelter on.
Claire Mercer is now instrumental in a campaign to have smart motorways scrapped and, with a group of other protesters, carried coffins through London and marched on to Parliament Square before Christmas to get their voices heard.
Do you have any personal experience of smart motorways? There are an increasing number of them about now. I know we've asked for your opinions on them before but if you have anything to add we are still interested. This safety issue with ALR roads seems particularly pertinent to motorcyclists as they have even less protection if stranded with just the bike in the middle of a motorway.
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