THE AA is calling for the M4 smart motorway to be revamped following a government decision not to create any more superhighways.
At the weekend, Rishi Sunak said 14 planned smart motorways would not go ahead, saving £1 billion.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “We want the public to know that this government is listening to their concerns.
“This announcement means no new smart motorways will be built, recognising the lack of public confidence felt by drivers and the cost pressures due to inflation.”
The government and National Highways said they will invest £900 million in further safety improvements on existing smart motorways, including installing 150 extra emergency refuge areas on the roads, and enhancing stopped vehicle detection technology.
But this doesn’t go far enough for the AA.
Edmund King, the AA president, said: “I think there is a relatively simple solution. Reinstate the hard shoulder with a permanent Red X and new lane markings.
“Keep the emergency areas and overhead technology.
“Get the police to instigate a hard-hitting lane discipline campaign to get rid of the middle-lane hogs and free up road space.”
He added: “Currently ‘smart’ motorways are not really alleviating congestion as more than one third of drivers don’t use the inside lane as they are petrified there may be broken down vehicles ahead.
“Any incident on ‘smart’ motorways causes severe congestion by closing lanes and delaying the emergency services getting through to crashes which again puts lives at risk.”
