[TV] Smart Motorways - BBC Panorama now

[Notters]

The two key changes that were in the M42 original version but "adapted" in other versions were

refuge areas no longer every half a mile

hard shoulder lane no longer looks like a hard shoulder lane

This was seemingly compensated by coining the name "smart" which is anything but the correct word to describe above changes - cheaper they no doubt were though

you also forget the hundreds of cameras monitoring that lane.

You wanna try driving the full length of the M1, its a blast

M1 isn't too bad. M6 is horrific.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

you also forget the hundreds of cameras monitoring that lane.

M1 isn't too bad. M6 is horrific.

There might be hundreds of cameras but still reliant on a person watching multiple screens. Incidents can be missed, and, as shown on the Ch5 programme I watched last night, warnings ignored.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

Sounds really worrying. Would it help if lots of people chose not to drive in the left hand lane / hard shoulder?

Just wondering what we could all do as individuals - and less cars in that lane could reduce the risk..

 

[FatSuperman]

Have the public actually been told about how these work?! Or did the government just assume that everyone that sees a Red Cross will instinctively understand and leave the lane?

 

[BN9 BHA]

Have the public actually been told about how these work?! Or did the government just assume that everyone that sees a Red Cross will instinctively understand and leave the lane?

Good questions.
On the tv programme yesterday evening some members of the public were interviewed on camera, the question to each person was " do you know what a smart motorway is? " Most answers were "no".
The interviewer was replying " you have been driving on one " the filming/interviews were in the service station on a smart motorway.

 

[Lower West Stander]

After my personal experience last year which was terrifying I have watched the increasing criticism of these death traps with interest.

I have yet to come across one person who thinks they are a good idea - and that’s not exaggerating.

How on earth was this allowed to happen? That such a huge infrastructure commitment can be made with so little scrutiny on public safety.....


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[JJ McClure]

Talking to the RAC man who was fixing my car the other week he said that they and the AA have both refused to work on smart motorways and so if people do break down its up to the highways agency to move them to a safe spot. I can understand the aim of smart motorways, but the dangers seem to outweigh the benefits.

 

[Si Gull]

After my personal experience last year which was terrifying I have watched the increasing criticism of these death traps with interest.

I have yet to come across one person who thinks they are a good idea - and that’s not exaggerating.

How on earth was this allowed to happen? That such a huge infrastructure commitment can be made with so little scrutiny on public safety.....


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££££ Can be the only reason. Every man and his dog saw they were death yraps

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Have the public actually been told about how these work?! Or did the government just assume that everyone that sees a Red Cross will instinctively understand and leave the lane?

Or someone from abroad just arrived and driving on holiday/business.
Seems to me that a lot of people don't know how to drive properly or safely on a normal motorway.
Not sure that I'm very happy having my life in the hands of someone watching multiple TV screens.
If your car conks out on a motorway you could get smashed from behind instantly rather than indicating and getting on to the hard shoulder.
This is madness and costing a fortune.

 

[Stat Brother]

Need a road zipper

 

[narly101]

Well thats done for me driving in the inside lane then

 

[Bwian]

There might be hundreds of cameras but still reliant on a person watching multiple screens. Incidents can be missed, and, as shown on the Ch5 programme I watched last night, warnings ignored.

The same people watching the screens and causing unnecessary traffic jams because they haven't turned off the warning signs and speed restrictions long after an incident has been dealt with? Don't panic, don't panic.

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[Marty___Mcfly]

I’m guessing that when the smart motorway / no hard shoulder option is activated, you are probably statistically safest to be as far away from the left as possible- i.e. drive in the right hand lane.

 

[dazzer6666]

There might be hundreds of cameras but still reliant on a person watching multiple screens. Incidents can be missed, and, as shown on the Ch5 programme I watched last night, warnings ignored.

It’s not that that bothers me so much, more the thousands that (deliberately) ignore the speed restrictions and lane closures when someone has stopped in the inside lane. There needs to be massive, well publicised penalties for going through a red X gantry light, and as someone posted above, the speed limits need to be lower when there is an obstruction. I’d be terrified to stop the car in the inside lane.

 

[seagully]

I quite often drive down to Sussex with my 18 month old twins in the back. I dread to think what could happen on a smart motorway if I broke down. It takes long enough to unbuckle them and get them out of their seats on a good day, let alone sitting in a 'live' motorway lane

 

[strings]

The M42 has a refuge area every half a mile - this works very well - drove up and down it every day for over seven years

The so called smart motorway way is to have a refuge area every 1.5 miles instead which is too far apart

The M42 you can clearly see the first lane is a hard shoulder when not open in rush hour

The smart motorway way of doing things is first lane always looks like a live lane - so folks ignore the red X and drive into broken down cars

This!!

I've driven up and down the M42 loads. The impression you get as a driver is that there is a hard shoulder, which is sometimes opened to traffic. I currently live near the M1, and the 'smart' motorway is the opposite - i.e. there is no hard shoulder. People simply ignore the red 'x's, or use the closed lane as a method of overtaking as much traffic as they can before they have to get over to lane 2.

Also, as you say you can pretty much always see the next refuge area on the M42, this is definitely not the case on the M1.

 

[Husty]

My experience of smart motorways is that they work 99.999% of the time when it comes to easing congestion. Of course, that’s of little consolation for anyone who finds themselves in that 0.001% - 38 deaths is 38 too many for them to be considered a remote success.

Surely there’s a simple solution though? If you want to open up the hard shoulder, then the variable speed limit is automatically reduced to 30 or 40mph. Yeah, that means a slight delay but it’s better than the stop / start 10mph crawl you get on non-smart motorways. I personally wouldn’t mind that, particularly if it means I still get to put my kids to bed that night in the event I have a mechanical problem.

But how many deaths would there have been if they hadn't been converted to smart motorways? It could have been MORE for all we know?

 

[studio150]

On a personal note, they nearly did for me. I was going through the works at the top of the M23 last year, when I suddenly saw a crane toppling towards me. I had no time or space to avoid it and fortunately the metal crash barrier at the side of the road, stopped it from tumbling over. The arm would have extended across both open lanes. I carried on driving and it didn't really sink in until I heard reports the road was shut to recover the crane.

Which has nothing to do with smart motorways, given the crane incident could have occurred during any motorway work where a crane is required on site.

 

[RandyWanger]

Wouldn't happen in Germany

 

[Dave the OAP]

Yeah - sorry, they are the sections of motorway where they are getting rid of the hard shoulder to use as an extra lane. The justification has been that technology will be in place to close the lane (as indicated by a red X over the lane) if a stopped vehicle is detected. The trouble is, that technology doesnt really seem to be in place and certainly doesn't adequately mitigate against the loss of the refuge that the hard shoulder offers. The accident statistics on the sections of smart motorway that have been introduced to date are horrendous.

The initial roll-out was based on the pilot scheme in place on the M42 which was supposedly a success, however the ones done since then have been done on the cheap.

If you do break down on one and can't get to a refuge layby (which are up to 2.5 miles apart - unlike the 600 yards on the M42 pilot), you are in severe danger.

That was the gist.

And the fact that no one takes a blind bit of notice of a red X as people just hammer along in the “ closed lane” and cut in when they feel like it so also pissing everyone off

If this experiment is cancelled how much money has this country spunked on it and how much better would the money have been better spent! If only they designed motorways the french way where you have large lay-bys at very frequent gaps to be able to get out and walk about or have a picknic off the road rather than the horrendously expensive motorways services that we seem to want to build.