Investigation raises safety fears over smart motorway refuge areas

An investigation by ITV News Meridian into the size of emergency refuge areas on smart motorways suggests many may have been built to a shorter length than the intended safety design standard.

Emergency refuge areas are located on smart motorways where the hard shoulder has been turned into an extra running lane. Painted orange, they are designed to offer a ‘safe haven’ for stranded vehicles.

National Highways guidance says they should be 100m in length. According to the AA’s head of roads policy, Jack Cousens, this allows the best possible chance for drivers to safely stop without overhanging the live lane. 

He adds that the design specification also gives breakdown patrols more room to safely enter and work on a vehicle – while offering more space to re-join the carriageway.

However, the investigation by ITV News Meridian found schemes in the Thames Valley, South and South East to fall short of this length.

Its measurements suggest that on the:

• M23 two out of 12 were at 100 metres or above. One was recorded at 80m
• M20 all five are not 100 metres. The minimum 90.97m and the longest at 94.58m
• M3 – eight out of 12 over 100m. The minimum 95.29m and longest 106.19m
• M25 (J5 – /7) – two out of 14 are at 100 metres.The minimum 89.74m and longest 102.21m
• M4 – six out of 13 we were able to measure were below 100 metres. The minimum 94.92m and longest 97.24m

Responding to the investigation, National Highways initially released a statement to ITV News Meridian saying that it cannot verify the figures but acknowledges the designs of some emergency bays may vary because of geographical features.

Tony Slater, National Highways smart motorways alliance manager, said: “Emergency areas provide a safer place to stop than the hard shoulder; they are set back from the carriageway and are also wider than the hard shoulder.

“They are designed to a standard 100 metres in length, but in certain instances this may vary due to local geography.

“We carried out extensive work to test both the size and design of emergency areas in collaboration with the recovery industry and can assure they can accommodate several vehicles. We cannot verify the calculations made by ITV Meridian.”

Days later, the Government organisation went on to specifically dispute the figures on the M23 and M20 claiming all are above 100 metres.

David Bray, National Highways smart motorways programme director, told ITV News Meridian: “Emergency areas provide a safer place to stop than the hard shoulder.

“They are designed and built to a standard 100 metres in length. We do not recognise the calculations made by ITV Meridian and the emergency area lengths that we have been able to determine in the time provided all meet the agreed standard.”

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