In this opinion piece, Charlie Norman, managing director of Drivetech, outlines how in the absence of official guidance, driver training and communication will be key to helping commercial drivers feel more confident on smart motorways.
Crashes on smart motorways are under investigation by the newly formed Road Safety Investigation branch (RSIB), with a view to providing recommendations to prevent future incidents. This is a direct result of a number of high profile campaigns launched to improve smart motorway road safety, following a number of very sad incidents. Government data obtained by Panorama in 2020 revealed that 38 people were killed on smart motorways between 2014 and 2019.
We trust the RSIB’s pending recommendations will be integral to boosting road safety in the future. But for now, considering smart motorways are still in use, what actions can employers take to boost road safety among employees?
What are smart motorways?
A smart motorway is a stretch of road where technology is used to regulate and ease congestion. Smart motorways were launched in the UK in 2006 with a pilot programme conducted on the M42 by Highways England. The original trials focused mainly on variable control over maximum legal speeds on motorway sections with CCTV and other monitoring technology to assess the weight and flow of traffic real-time. They were driven by the need to increase capacity and traffic flow without actually expanding motorway width.
There are now three main types of smart motorway in situ:
- Controlled – these have a permanent hard shoulder but use technology to adjust traffic flows, such as variable speed limits
- Dynamic – here, the hard shoulder can be opened up to use as an extra lane during peak times, reducing the speed limit to 60 mph
- All-lane running – the permanent removal of the hard shoulder to provide an extra lane
Concern has increased about the safety of drivers in the event of a vehicle breakdown. For motorists who have received no top-up driver education since their driving test, this changing road environment has never been explained. With a speed limit of 70mph and the absence of a hard shoulder, some drivers’ confidence in smart motorways is understandably lacking.
Expansion suspended for five years
In January 2022, the Department for Transport announced it was suspending the expansion of all-lane running smart motorways until at least five years’ worth of data has been collected to weigh up whether or not they are safe for drivers. Work has now been postponed on the following roads:
- M3 between junctions 9 and 14
- M40/M42 interchange
- M62 between junctions 20 and 25
- M25 between junctions 10 and 16
The AA has also called for further investigation of its proposal for All-Lane Running schemes to revert to the hard shoulder between 7pm-7am to avoid confusion and to offer a refuge for those stuck as a result of live lane collisions occurring at night, which the current transport secretary has agreed to.
What are my responsibilities?
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires employers to take appropriate steps to ensure the health and safety of their employees and others who may be affected by their activities when at work. This includes the time when they are driving or riding at work, whether this is in a company or hired vehicle, or in the employee’s own vehicle, in a growing trend known as grey fleet.
Top tips for smart motorway safety
Drivetech has compiled a list of top tips for smart motorway safety (shareable with employees as a pdf here) which are as follows:
- Stay out of motorway lanes marked by an X. There could be an incident ahead. Bear in mind that it is illegal to drive in a lane closed by a red X sign. If you are caught, you could receive a fixed penalty of up to £100 and three points
- If you break down, go left to reach an emergency refuse area (ERA) or exit. This will ensure you can safely leave your vehicle. ERAs, motorway service areas and short stretches of hard shoulder on exit slips are all ‘places of relative safety’
- If you stop in a ERA, use the SOS phone on arrival & before leaving. Operators use CCTV to monitor your vehicle
- If dark or foggy outside, also turn-on side lights and/or fog lights
- If you have to stay in your vehicle, leave the ignition on and engine off, assuming there is no risk of fire. This will allow airbags to be deployed in the event of a collision
- If you and all occupants can safely exit your car, leave via the doors on the far left. Wait behind the safety barrier for help
Go left
We were delighted to see National Highways (formerly Highways England) launch its ‘Go Left’ campaign in 2021, encouraging drivers to go left to safety in the event of a breakdown. Set to the tune of the Pet Shop Boys’ hit Go West, the campaign delivered a simple, catchy, life-saving message – go left. The ‘Go Left’ guidance is as follows in the event of a breakdown:
- Put your left indicators on
- Move over into the left lane
- Enter the next emergency area, or hard shoulder
- Put your hazard lights on
- Get behind a safety barrier if there is one and move well away from moving traffic
- Call your breakdown provider for help
Boosting confidence, boosting safety
Drivetech is fully supportive of ongoing activity to ensure road safety stays high on the national agenda, working with our parent company the AA, and also with police forces and road safety campaigners and partnerships across the UK. But in the meantime, while we await future guidance, driver training and communication is key to helping employees feel more confident when driving on smart motorways.
Forearmed is forewarned when it comes to employee safety on the roads. Briefing ahead drivers on the potential dangers of smart motorway driving will help, we hope, to prevent the ‘on the job’ learning some drivers have had to endure when a crisis on the road has presented itself.
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