Smart motorways: time for a review?

31 January 2020

With concerns around smart motorways being brought to the fore during the Roads Policing Conference, the crux of the matter is balancing traffic flow and road safety, according to West Midlands Police Federation’s deputy secretary, Tim Rogers.

Tim, who is the national Federation’s pursuits driving lead, believes it is time for a review of smart motorways and a re-investment in roads policing.

“I think we need to consider how cuts to police budgets have affected road safety and ensure that the safety of all road users is made the number one priority,” says Tim.

“The Home Office has embarked on the roads policing review and we are awaiting the publication of the HMICFRS report on roads policing; both of these strands of work should give us an insight into the realities of roads policing and hopefully help all parties work together to find a way forward.”

Smart motorways came under discussion at the conference during a panel session involving national Federation vice-chair Ché Donald, Edmund King, president of the AA, and Nicholas Lyes, public affairs manager at the RAC.

Mr King said: “A decision was made to save money, and it was known at the time that it would be three times more risky. We raised it at the time, and every year since. People are stuck for more than half an hour on average on a live lane, just praying that a red X goes up. For us, no matter what the stats are… these roads could be much safer.”

Mr Lyes added: “All of the studies, even Highways England’s own figures, show that this is a much higher risk than a regular motorway. We need to look now, urgently, at what we can do almost immediately. For us this means better vehicle stopping, more refuge areas, and faster deployment of the red X. Our research indicates that a fifth of drivers ignore the red X.”

There was also general agreement that smart motorways were adding to the demands placed on police officers.

Asked if smart motorways should be scrapped, Ché said: “I would rather get to my destination late than be dead.”

Day 2 of conference also considered pursuit investigations with the panel discussing Post-Incident Procedures, whether Specials should be used in pursuits, legislative changes, the use of helicopters, single crewing, the wellbeing of roads policing officers and the increasing role of technology.