The latest Stocktake Report into the protection of ‘good’ motorways has renewed requires the reinstatement of the arduous shoulder. The report from Nationwide Highways, together with evaluation from the Workplace of Highway and Rail (ORR), has strengthened fears that eradicating arduous shoulders has made motorways extra harmful, reasonably than bettering security and site visitors circulation as initially supposed.
AA president Edmund King stated the newest information supplied by Nationwide Highways exhibits that a number of sections of ‘All Lane Working’ (ALR) motorways on the M1 now have the next charge of individuals killed or severely injured (KSI) than earlier than the arduous shoulder was eliminated. He additionally pointed to failures in radar detection know-how, which is meant to alert management rooms when autos break down in stay lanes.
“Shockingly, the M62 between Junctions 10 and 12 suffered a system failure for nearly a month,” King stated. “This lack of security know-how, which drivers have been requested to place their belief in, meant they have been put in pointless hazard. It’s little surprise {that a} third of drivers say they really feel much less secure on good motorways in comparison with three years in the past.”
Rising considerations and repeated failures
The most recent Stocktake follows a survey by the AA of greater than 13,500 drivers, which discovered that three in 5 need ‘good’ motorways to be scrapped and transformed again to conventional motorways with a everlasting arduous shoulder. Simply 11% supported maintaining the community in its present state.
The research highlighted that drivers really feel considerably much less secure on ‘good’ motorways, significantly the place the arduous shoulder is typically used as a working lane at peak instances. These stretches of street have been rated the least secure, with 34% of drivers saying they felt “lots much less secure” in comparison with three years in the past.
Extra information from the ORR revealed {that a} third of radar detection programs examined failed to fulfill the required security customary, with two failing and deteriorating additional over a 12-month interval. King stated the failures additional show that the ‘good’ motorway system isn’t match for function.
AA says ‘good’ motorway experiment has failed
The AA has been warning concerning the risks of ‘good’ motorways since their introduction in 2010, and the newest findings reinforce the organisation’s long-held view that the scheme has been a failure.
In 2020, the federal government pledged nearly £1 billion to enhance security by putting in 150 extra emergency refuge areas to scale back the gap between them from 1.5 miles to 0.75 miles. Nonetheless, solely half of those upgrades have been accomplished, with work nonetheless ongoing on key sections of the M1, M3, M4, M5, M20 and M25.
King stated the proof is now overwhelming. “It’s time to settle for that so-called ‘good’ motorways have failed and to facet with nearly all of drivers who need the reinstatement of the arduous shoulder,” he stated.
The federal government has already halted additional enlargement of ‘good’ motorways, however with the newest Stocktake confirming rising security considerations and ongoing system failures, stress is mounting for ministers to take the subsequent step and start reversing the controversial scheme.
