Sarah Champion MP Calls for All Lane Running Motorways to be Abandoned Following Publication of Damning Safety Data

Sarah Champion, Member of Parliament for Rotherham, has called on the Government to abandon All Lane Running Smart Motorways following the publication of safety data that shows the true impact of removing the hard shoulder.

Data published in National Highways’ Second Year Progress Report on Smart Motorways shows that the rate of incidents involving a stopped vehicle on All Lane Running motorways is more than double that of conventional motorways and more than triple that of controlled motorways, which combine the safety features of smart motorways with a full-time hard shoulder. [i]

Commenting on the data, Sarah said:

“This new data is shocking, but sadly, far from surprising. My own research has previously demonstrated the huge increase in the number of vehicles becoming stranded in live lanes following the removal of the hard shoulder.[ii] Given the inherent risk this presents, it was inevitable that an increase in serious incidents would be the result.”

Sarah has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, to urge him to commit to restoring the hard shoulder across the motorway network. In her letter, Sarah said:

“I have long argued that it is not possible to fully mitigate the risk that removing the hard shoulder introduces to our motorway network. While safety improvements are welcome, I do not believe that they can ever fully compensate for a fundamentally flawed road design.”

Commenting, Sarah said:

“These figures confirm what was already obvious to anyone who has driven on an All Lane Running motorway: these roads are death traps. They should never have made it off the drawing board, still less been allowed to be widely rolled out without sufficient safety data.’

‘I have been calling for years for the hard shoulder to be restored. Each time, I have been told that ALR is safe. These figures reveal the shocking truth. The Government and National Highways are gambling the lives of motorists in a bid to increase capacity on the cheap. I hope that they will now, finally, listen to me and commit to restoring the hard shoulder across the motorway network.’

‘If safety is to be the paramount concern, this is the only viable course to take.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

[i] https://nationalhighways.co.uk/media/jdopsw2v/smart-motorways-stocktake-second-year-progress-report-2022.pdf Pg. 51.

[ii] https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-02-25/158937 & https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-03-02/161774