Half of drivers avoid using lane one on ‘all lane running’ smart motorways, negating the benefit of increased carriageway capacity.
That’s according to the results of a survey carried out by the RAC.
The survey, conducted with 1,904 drivers who have driven on ‘all lane running’ smart motorways, found that 21% claimed to have frequently steered clear of the left-hand, inside lane – while 28% admitted to doing so occasionally.
Asked why they avoid driving in lane one, 77% of respondents say they are worried they might encounter a stationary, broken-down vehicle as there is no hard shoulder.
Meanwhile, 40% are fearful of being crashed into if they had to stop.
When it comes to improving safety, 74% say they would like to see more refuge areas – with such areas a necessity on these stretches of road in the absence of the hard shoulder.
Additionally, 72% would be reassured by technology that detects stranded vehicles – and 56% want to see more gantry signs which show the speed limit and whether lanes ahead are closed.
On the back of the survey, the RAC is calling on the Government to ditch ‘all lane running’ in favour of ‘dynamic hard shoulders’ – providing drivers with somewhere to stop “in relative safety”.
Simon Williams, RAC road safety spokesperson, said: “Ever since the first ‘all lane running’ smart motorway opened on the M25 in April 2014 there has been a considerable amount of controversy about safety which worsened significantly following several high-profile fatal collisions.
“Consequently, these roads, continue to be deeply unpopular with drivers who, before their introduction, had been used to having the relative refuge of a hard shoulder available in an emergency.
“On top of this our latest research worryingly shows that half of drivers actively avoid using the inside-most lane for a variety of reasons, not least the fear of being crashed into, meaning much of the extra carriageway capacity they were meant to bring is wasted.
“We strongly urge the Government to abandon ‘all lane running’ smart motorways and switch to ‘dynamic hard shoulders’ so that drivers can still benefit from increased road capacity at busy times while having somewhere to stop in relative safety in an emergency at other times.”
“Asked why they avoid driving in lane one, 77% of respondents say they are worried they might encounter a stationary, broken-down vehicle as there is no hard shoulder.” But presumably this possibilty doesn’t bother them when driving in lanes two or three, which carry faster traffic and obviously no access to the hard shoulder either? The same hazard exists on dual carriageways and single carriageway rural roads which also do not have hard shoulders. In any case, the message is clear “look where you’re going and always be ready to stop!”
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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