Today, the Transport Committee published its report into the rollout and safety of smart motorways.
The report recommends pausing the rollout of all lane running motorways, and improvements to their safety features such as increasing the frequency of emergency refuge areas. Community welcomes the report, but believes that the Department for Transport should go further and return the hard shoulder in all cases.
Community’s National Officer for the Logistics sector Tony Dunne says:
“All lane running motorways need to be scrapped. We cannot wait for another motorist or passengers to be injured or killed. I urge the Department for Transport to act now to protect peoples’ safety.”
All lane running motorways are a kind of smart motorway in which the hard shoulder is removed, and all lanes are used for live traffic. The removal of the hard shoulder has already led to several high profile incidents with broken down vehicles in live lanes.”
If you are a member of Community and need help or advice, please contact us at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.
© Community Trade Union 2021