No new smart motorways until they are ‘guaranteed safe’ says IAM RoadSmart

IAM RoadSmart, the UK’s biggest independent road safety charity, has welcomed reports that the Government intends to halt all smart motorway building – stating they must be guaranteed safe before any further public money is invested in them.

In the House of Commons on Thursday (30 January) Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, said a £92 million project in Kent will not open to traffic while the dangers of the roads are being assessed.

Other smart motorways due to be completed this year are a 10-mile stretch of the M62 in Greater Manchester, an 11-mile stretch of the M23 near Gatwick Airport and a 13.6-mile stretch of the M6 between Coventry and Coleshill – as yet there is no word on whether these projects will be completed either.

Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and research, said: “A stop on new smart motorways until they can be guaranteed safe and understandable for all users makes sense.

“Spending scarce resource on roads that may have to be upgraded again in a few months would be a complete waste of time and put drivers’ lives at risk.

“The focus must now be on quickly establishing what can be done to make existing smart motorways much safer. That must start with a programme to deliver the right detection technology and more frequent refuges, as well as safe completion of current ‘live’ projects”

He added: “Extended education campaigns can also start immediately as well as greater enforcement of Red X violations across the network.”

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IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart commercial products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com/business                                                      

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart’s Driver Retraining Academy visit www.iamdra.org.uk                                                 

To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://www.iamroadsmart.com/local-groups                              

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