"AA Expresses Serious Reservations over Smart Motorways, Advocating for Their Discontinuation"
Smart Motorways in England Continue to Spark Safety Concerns
AA's latest investigation unveils a significantly higher rate of vehicle breakdowns on smart motorways compared to conventional motorways. This revelation comes as the motoring organization presses the government to axe the smart motorway system.
New figures released by National Highways, the state-owned company responsible for 'M' roads in Britain, showed a breakdown rate on smart motorways nearly three times higher than traditional motorways. The data was a response to an Freedom of Information request by the AA.
With around 13% of the nation's 1,900 miles of motorway network consisting of smart stretches without a hard shoulder at any given time, motorists run the risk of being stranded without a safe area to pull over in case of mechanical issues.
In 2024, 56% of breakdowns logged on England's motorways happened on smart sections, despite the roads making up only a fifth of the total motorway network and no new installations in the last two years due to safety concerns.
Recent statistics show 141,149 smart motorway breakdown incidents occurred in 2024, averaging 387 per day. While National Highways claims the advanced technology installed on smart motorways contributes to more detected breakdowns, a few reported software outages have been highlighted in the most recent smart motorway stocktake published in March, which limited the technology's capacity to identify drivers at risk.
Following analysis of 12 smart motorway sections over a one-year period, the Office of Rail and Road—the independent watchdog monitoring National Highways—found that four failed to meet the target for detection rates, one did not meet the target for false discovery rates, and two did not meet the target for average detection times.
The consistent volume of breakdowns on smart motorways has deepened the AA's long-held safety concerns for the public. Numerous fatal incidents have occurred when vehicles stopped in live lanes were hit from behind.
Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak halted all planned smart motorway projects in April 2023 due to financial pressures and a lack of public confidence.
AA President Edmund King commented, "It is a major concern that we are witnessing more than a quarter of a million breakdowns a year on the motorway network—and those are just the officially recorded ones."
As of now, 7.3% of the motorway network consists of controlled schemes that use variable speed limits and retain a hard shoulder. However, sections considered most dangerous are All-Lane Running smart motorways, which make up 13% of the network and have no hard shoulder at all.
This is because motorists who encounter mechanical issues, collisions, or punctures on these sections are expected to pull into short emergency refuge areas spaced 1.5 miles apart. If a car is rendered undrivable, it's often impossible to reach one of these safe pull-off areas.
Dynamic Hard Shoulder sections, which cover 3.3% of the motorway network, do have hard shoulders but can be turned into live lanes during periods of heavy congestion.
In a poll of 13,500 UK drivers conducted by the AA earlier this year, a third said they feel "a lot less safe" on smart motorways compared to three years ago. In contrast, just 2% of the panel said they feel more at risk on conventional motorways compared to 2022. A third of respondents admitted feeling more anxious driving on sections of smart motorway with dynamic hard shoulders, while three in five of the nation's motorists want smart motorways scrapped entirely.
The government's response to these concerns remains to be seen, but calls for action and the ongoing scrutiny of smart motorways continue to grow.
Insurance companies may see a surge in accidents and breakdowns on England's smart motorways due to the higher rates of vehicle breakdowns compared to conventional motorways. Participants in various sports like running, cycling, or driving may express increased unease while navigating smart motorways due to the elevated safety concerns.
