The Transport Select Committee published today, on 2 November 2021, the third report for the inquiry into the roll out and safety of smart motorways. The report calls to pause the roll out of All Lane Running (ALR) motorways for five years until the next Road Investment Strategy. The Transport Select Committee seeks the Department for Transport and National Highways to make operational and design changes to ALR motorways, collect data to upgrade and evaluate the safety of existing ALR and evaluate how successful the action plan has been so far.
Join other savvy professionals just like you at CIHT. We are committed to fulfilling your professional development needs throughout your career
The Transport Select Committee published today, the third report for the inquiry into the roll out and safety of smart motorways. This inquiry seeks to look at the safety of smart motorways and public confidence in their use as well as their impact upon congestion.
In today’s report from the Transport Select Committee concerns with the design and implementation of all-lane running motorways were expressed, stating that the “promised safety improvements were delivered neither efficiently nor effectively”.
The Transport Select Committee believe the Government’s decision to roll out all-lane running motorways in March 2020 was “premature” and that the Government and National Highways should pause the roll out of ALR schemes until five years of safety and economic data is available.
Although, the dynamic hard shoulder motorways “apparently” confuse drivers. The Transport Select Committee are “not convinced that reinstating the hard shoulder on all all-lane running motorways will improve safety.”
“The evidence suggests that doing so could put more drivers and passengers at risk of death and serious injury.”
Transport Select Committee, November 2021
The pause of the roll out allows the government and National Highways to collect data to upgrade and evaluate the safety of existing ALR schemes and consider alternative options until the next Road Investment Strategy.
The Transport Select Committee proposed the Department make operational and design changes to:
To explore the specific safety risks associated with the removal of the hard shoulder, the Transport Select Committee have tasked the Office of Rail and Road with evaluating how successful the action plan has been in:
The Transport Select Committee have also called for the Department and National Highways to revisit the case for controlled motorways, as well as calling for the Department to carefully consider how the business case for controlled motorways compares with that for all-lane running motorways.
In June 2021, CIHT Fellow Kate Carpenter provided evidence on behalf of CIHT to the Transport Select Committee for this inquiry into the roll out and safety of smart motorways.
Kate Carpenter FCIHT mentioned in this session:
“The actual safety performance in the most recent five years’ data shows that all forms of smart motorway—controlled motorway, dynamic hard shoulder and all-lane running—have a lower collision rate than a conventional motorway with a hard shoulder. That might be counterintuitive, but that is the finding at the moment. Therefore, CIHT supports them, provided the environmental and economic case is clear”
“One of the things we find in road safety is that behaviour can be very counterintuitive.”
“...we understand that many drivers are very anxious about smart motorways. That has a real potential effect. They might divert on to other roads. A big concern for us is about communications and public understanding. If people are fearful of smart motorways and they travel on A roads, where they are far more likely to be killed per mile travelled, that is a real risk."
To read more of the evidence CIHT Fellow Kate Carpenter provided at the Transport Select Committee hearing in July 2021, click here.
CIHT’s position on Smart Motorways has maintained that improving road safety should be based around engineering, enforcement and education. CIHT recognises that many drivers do not feel safe on Smart Motorways, despite that their safety performance is better than conventional motorways, and that this is something National Highways needs to address now and in any future schemes.
CIHT believe that driver communication and understanding needs to be addressed. CIHT support the provision to monitor all incidents and collisions to understand what is happening, to inform ongoing design, operation and public information.
To read more CIHT’s position on the inquiry into the roll out and safety of smart motorways, click here.
To join in with the discussions and engage further on the roll out and safety of smart motorways please visit Connect.
#StepForward
Propose a colleague who successfully becomes a CIHT member and you’ll be automatically be entered into our free monthly prize draw where one lucky winner will receive a £50 John Lewis Gift Card.
Join other savvy professionals just like you at CIHT. We are committed to fulfilling your professional development needs throughout your career
{{item.AuthorName}} {{item.AuthorName}} says on {{item.DateFormattedString}}: