The move comes following a ‘stocktake’ review of smart motorway safety commissioned in the wake of public concerns. Statistics suggest that, on both dynamic hard shoulder and all lane running smart motorways, fatal casualty rates are lower than on traditional routes but overall injury rates are slightly higher.

However the review suggests that the use of dynamic hard shoulders has the potential to cause confusion for motorists, and therefore all existing schemes will be converted to all lane running by the end of March 2025.

Further measures being taken after the stocktake include speeding up the roll out of stopped vehicle detection technology to ensure broken down drivers are identified and attended to quicker, and spacing emergency refuge areas closer together.

“I commissioned an urgent stocktake of smart motorways to provide a clearer picture of their safety and make recommendations on next steps,” said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

“The extended package of measures I have set out will help rebuild public confidence in our motorway network and ensure that safety is firmly at the heart of the programme.”

In total 18 measures have been announced in a bid to improve safety and public confidence. Stopped vehicle detection is planned to be installed across the entire smart motorway network within 36 months and distances between emergency areas will be reduced to three quarters of a mile where feasible.

Strategic road network operator Highways England’s chief executive Jim O’Sullivan commented: “We will be taking forward the measures the Secretary of State for Transport has set out, and we will be improving further our information to drivers to help them be safer on all of our roads, including our smart motorway network.”

Independent watchdog Transport Focus’s chief executive Anthony Smith said: “We know road users are concerned about safety when they think what would happen if they broke down on a motorway with no hard shoulder.

“We welcome this package of improvements including more technology to detect breakdowns quickly and for there to be extra effort to spread the word about what to do if you break down.”

A number of new smart motorways are included within the Government’s second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2), which was published shortly after last week’s Budget confirmed £27Bn of funding for strategic roads over the next five years.

Committed smart motorway projects include upgrading the M62 from junction 20 to 25, the M6 between junctions 21a and 26, the M25 from junction 10 to 16 and the M3 between junctions 9 and 14.

Further schemes included in RIS2 are the Lower Thames Crossing east of London, the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down (Stonehenge Tunnel) upgrade in the South West, improvements to the trans-Pennine A66 in the north and the A46 Newark Bypass in the Midlands.

(Photograph: Highways England)