Smart motorways .....such a dumb idea.

[gasbanni]

Have you ever broken down on a motorway ?

Is it 10 people that have now died because of them ?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7905879/Now-AA-says-smart-motorways-dangerous.html

Having no hard shoulder is just plain insanity. The people who suggested it and endorsed it should all be sacked .......for gross stupidity.

 

[Notch7]

Smart motorways or 'revenue generators' as I like to call them

 

[durhamplumber]

Smart motorways or 'revenue generators' as I like to call them

Death traps.

 

[Notch7]

Death traps.

I believe there is a review happening -due to this stupid idea of not having a hard shoulder.

smart motorways do include variable speed limits and some junctions have traffic lights on the slip roads onto motorways to try and keep traffic flowing without the congestion at the junctions.

so they do have good features.

the hard shoulder thing is terrible -Im not a fan of driving on those sections -of which there are loads around here.

 

[bernardgreen]

Having no hard shoulder is just plain insanity. The people who suggested it and endorsed it should all be sacked .......for gross stupidity.

I totally and utterly agree, having seen a near miss where an in-attentive driver on the live lane hard shoulder failed to see a broken down car ( with warning triangle in place ) until the last second. He ( or she ) swerved out of the hard shoulder into lane 1. This forced a car in lane 1 to move into lane 2 and contact a car in lane 2. No accident as such but it could easily have become a 4 lane incident.

 

[motorbiking]

Part of the problem is people ignoring the Red X over the lane. You now get 3 points if they spot you. Also if you have to stop in lane, you should try to stop at an angle. It helps the human brain spot the difference and realise that you aren't moving.

e.g.

 

[bernardgreen]

Part of the problem is people ignoring the Red X over the lane

True. The Red X will ( should ) come on when the hard shoulder is blocked. But what is the delay between the broken down vehicle becoming stationary on the hard shoulder and the "smart" system ( or traffic officer via CCTV ) detecting that the hard shoulder is blocked and setting the Red X

 

[motorbiking]

I do think we need to look at the data before concluding there is a problem. Motorway traffic is up massively, accident increases could be down volume and capacity. worth a look..
https://assets.publishing.service.g...d-traffic-estimates-in-great-britain-2018.pdf

 

[bernardgreen]

I do think we need to look at the data before concluding there is a problem.

the data does not include "near misses" as these seldom if ever get reported. Only when there is an accident that involves emergeny service attendance does a formal report get produced and a new incident added to the data.

 

[Deleted member 18243]

The problems are that there are too many vehicles on the road, and that too many people have the right to drive.

 

[Notch7]

The problems are that there are too many vehicles on the road, and that too many people have the right to drive.

Lets take the driving licenses away from 17.4m people

That would solve the traffic issue

 

[Bodd]

Lets take the driving licenses away from 17.4m people

That would solve the traffic issue

That's just plain silly....

 

[ETAF]

i read , somewhere last year, cant remember, "the Week" I think , that they are now stopping building any future smart motorways , although M3 & M27 seem to be continuing to be converted to smart

 

[bernardgreen]

too many people have the right to drive.

too many people have the right to use a car, not all can drive.

 

[transam]

They should make cars more dangerous

Ban seat belts and stick a spike in the middle of the steering wheel 2 inches away from yer chest