Jim McMahon, Oldham MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, told MEN: 'We've met with families of victims who have died on smart motorways and many of these deaths could have been prevented had a hard shoulder been in place. National Highways also confirmed a car collided with traffic officer's vehicle this summer as it passed under a red 'X' on the overhead sign. On staffing issues, it said plans were in place for different regional control centres to share the workload if necessary. The body, previously called Highways England, said it would be installing new 'stopped vehicle detection' technology on the particular section of the M62 to compensate for there being no hard shoulder. Labour’s transport spokesman Jim McMahon (pictured) has called for the 'immediate suspension of smart motorways and the re-introduction of the hard shoulder' National Highways said it did not have data on how many vehicles had been stranded for more than 30 minutes over the past six months, reported MEN. They also claimed that breakdowns in 'live lanes' regularly go unseen by the control room, with vehicles often left stuck for 'over an hour'. Insiders said when such errors occur, their jobs are seriously hindered. National Highways said today that both have now been repaired. Two overhead gantry signs were also left broken for over a month. 'We are urgently addressing a potential manufacturing fault with the particular type of sign we have in operation just on this one section.' 'These repairs are currently underway and are expected to be complete in the coming days. National Highways said: 'Of these 37 signs, 24 needed repairs, some of which relate to a potential manufacturing fault.
DRIVE AHEAD GLITCHES DRIVERS
It means until they are fixed, drivers must stick to a 60mph speed limit. More than 200 digital screens inform motorists on the smart motorway of potential upcoming hazards, including speed limit changes, lane closures and collisions.īut on the stretch between the Croft and Eccles interchanges - junctions 10 to 12 - two thirds of the roadside messages are broken. It comes amid plans for about 800 miles of smart motorway by 2025, up from just under 500 miles currently. 'There are so many broken signals traffic officers are now having to perform rolling road blocks in order for recovery services to safely leave the emergency bays.' Some signals have been faulty for months on end. 'It's becoming a not very funny standing joke. There are plans for about 800 miles of smart motorway by 2025, up from just under 500 miles currently (Pictured: The M62) Traffic officers are requesting signals for lane closures, speed restrictions or warning legends and too often the reply from the control centre is that the signal prior is faulty. However any findings from the inquiry have yet to be shared with the public.Īn insider told Manchester Evening News (MEN): 'Road traffic officers are fearing for their own safety, as well as that of all other road users, meanwhile the official reports are deeming Smart motorways amongst the safest of them all. It comes after a six-week undercover investigation by the Daily Mail, which ended last month, found serious issues across the smart motorways network - leading to an intervention by the Department of Transport and Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Smart motorways have long been controversial because their hard shoulder is either scrapped permanently – known as 'all-lane running' – or operates as an additional part-time lane of traffic during peak hours – a 'dynamic hard shoulder', meaning broken down vehicles can become stranded in a live lane of traffic. National Highways said today that it was investigating the allegations 'urgently', adding that safety was its 'top priority'. One employee at the body - which manages Britain's motorways - said some cars had been left stuck in live lanes 'for over an hour.' A stretch of smart motorway on the M62 is being plagued by technology failures and staffing issues and is putting drivers' lives at risk, whistleblowers have warned.Īlong the affected section, between the Croft and Eccles interchanges just west of Manchester, a staggering 24 of the 36 roadside message screens are broken while two overhead gantry signs stopped working for a month.ĭescribing the situation as 'dire', National Highways insiders warned that the lapses in technology are leading to delays in the control room which deals with break-downs.
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