British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced the abandonment of all ongoing plans for new smart highways in the country, citing the public’s lack of confidence in these lanes without a shoulder whose safety is in question. In a statement this Saturday, Rishi Sunak insisted on the “full confidence” that road users must have in the safety of the infrastructures.
In doing so, the Conservative leader is implementing one of his campaign promises this summer, when the British government first announced in early 2022 the suspension of the extension of its smart highway network. An endowment of 900 million pounds sterling (more than one billion euros) is planned to improve the safety of existing infrastructure, in particular through the development of 150 additional shelters along these motorways.
Lack of hard shoulder
According to British media, the UK’s highway network comprises around 600 kilometers (375 miles) of “smart” motorways, including 375 km (235 miles) without shoulders. There, a total of 38 people lost their lives between 2014 and 2019, some of whom were run over by vehicles stopped on the road. An additional 480 kilometers (300 mi) was planned for 2025.
Relatives of victims and motorist associations welcomed the abandonment of new projects, while asking the government to go further. After the litany of rulings finding that “lack of shoulders contributed” to the fatal crashes, AA motoring association president Edmund King advocated for his reinstatement.
Smart highways allow traffic capacity to be increased without costly extensions, by transforming the shoulder into a traffic lane, with a camera system and real-time signaling in the event of a vehicle breakdown or accident, but its safety is seriously compromised.
In September 2021, the popular Daily Mail newspaper claimed that one in ten surveillance cameras were broken, not working, or pointed in the wrong direction.
Source: BFM TV
