“It is vital that National Highways up their efforts to keep the public informed and continue to raise awareness of how to drive safely on smart motorways.”
That’s the verdict of IAM RoadSmart, on the back of a survey suggesting smart motorways are the road type 33% of motorists ‘fear driving on the most’.
The survey, which sampled the views of more than 1,000 drivers, saw rural/country single carriageway roads come in second with 14%, followed by conventional motorways at 6%.
Some 40% of respondents said they did not fear driving on any roads.
Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart, said: “While statistics may well show that smart motorways have fewer fatal crashes than conventional motorways, our research shows that far too many drivers still don’t feel safe on them.
“Moving forward, it is vital that National Highways up their efforts to keep the public informed and continue to raise awareness of how to drive safely on smart motorways.
“It is also clear that awareness needs to be raised about the risks of rural roads. Far from being a pleasant drive in the countryside, these are the type of roads which can punish mistakes with death and injury.”
Hi there,
Please would IAM RoadSmart lend their support to the growing campaign to ensure all future Smart Motorways are of the ” Controlled Motorway” design, which has all the good smart motorway tech but, crucially, also retains the permanent hard shoulder which the vast majority of British motorists demand. These roads are statistically the safest by far, and would provide the visual reassurance motorists need to encourage them back onto our motorway network. In addition, I strongly believe that all existing All Lane Running Smart Motorways should be upgraded to Controlled Motorway standards, to make them as safe as they can possibly be. National Highways’ penny-pinching at the expense of safety must be stopped, and the views of the majority of all the major motoring organisations finally taken into consideration.
Very best wishes from Leeds,
Gary Hewitt
Gary Hewitt, Leeds
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