Smart Motorways - Panorama investigation

[macafee2]

My son in law is a damn hard working police officer, my daughter was in the fire service and works still in the paramedic service.

that's all 3 emergency services covered.

I am sure we will all agree there will be the odd one or two fools but most work damn hard. I have had my disagreement with the police but I still support them and most if not all of us will turn to them if our house is burgled!

macafee2

[bl52krz]

When I used to be in heavy transport, we were always told that if we had a puncture on the m/way to pull over as far to the left as you could. We were not allowed to change the wheels ourselves, but to phone work so they could phone the tyre company and police where we were. The tyre company would not begin to change the wheel until the police arrived and closed the lane one and coned it off, with the police Range Rover with its lights on about 100 yards up the road on the m/way. Never had any accidents or near misses while it was being done.

[macafee2]

there is a "follow on" program afterwards on channel 5, there is an issue I think with the smart motorway

macafee2

[bobb12005]

just watched the program dickhead MP trying to defend the undefencible

[mileshawk56]

Didn't you notice he is a "Sir" Like the other "Sir" who way back told everyone diesels were ok and then years later said he was mistaken. Chris.S.

[Mike Noc]

Originally Posted by bl52krz

The tyre company would not begin to change the wheel until the police arrived and closed the lane one and coned it off, with the police Range Rover with its lights on about 100 yards up the road on the m/way. Never had any accidents or near misses while it was being done.

My mate was rear ended in a police Range Rover doing exactly that, and it also ended his time as a traffic officer.

[2750 HP]

Only ever been involved in two incidents on the motorway - not bad as I do about 35,000 miles a year of which nowadays 25,000 miles is in my ZT CDTi. Most is for work - today about 300 miles plus - M6 and M5 -both ways

Back in 1980 on the M6 a tyre blew out on my mate's Viva HC estate - fortunately a rear one and we ended up on the hard shoulder. Wheel was changed and we went on our way.

On the 15th January 1986, my boss and I were travelling back from Redditch to Lichfield on the newly opened part of the M42 (December 1985 i think it actually opened). I remember the date as it was the infamous Westland debate in Parliament. Motorway relatively empty but my boss was in the outside lane at 70mph in his brand new Fiat and he lost control and hit the central reservation armco. I think we spun and did significant damage and came to a stop at 45 degrees to the barrier in the outside lane. We were both cool as cumcumbers and thought we had better vacate the car and did so with no alarm / panic. I seem to remember climbing over the central reservation armco but 34 years on the memory may be playing tricks . Either way the police in their range rover and a break down lorry were there in double quick time and the car was rapidly moved to the hard shoulder from where it was loaded onto the recovery lorry. I am very glad of hard shoulders at both locations.

"Smart" motorways are symptomatic of the way this country does some things without thinking it through fully.

Also, agree with earlier re the information displayed which is so often out of date in that the hazard which may have existed is no longer there and this gives people doubts about what is displayed and hence signs are ignored - Cry Wolf!

I find that motoring in Britain is becoming less of an enjoyment these days. I really enjoy driving on the continent or the US - even if they drive on the wrong side of the road!

Steve

[planenut]

When one sees a lifebelt, or a defibrillator available for use, there is little thought of it's intended use, more the hope that it is never needed. A hard shoulder was always that for me, better to see it empty.

The fact that there is solid traffic in all live lanes should never be a reason for opening up that hard shoulder/emergency lane for normal use. All that traffic will inevitably still have to converge to leave the motorway.

Always assess advice and if you don't agree it's the safest thing to do, then follow your instinct.

[wraymond]

Well done to the programme makers for this, it obviously needs massive exposure to get it not only 'looked at', what an idiotic response, but the change actually reversed.

I'm somewhat shocked to learn of the huge number of breakdowns there are, I wonder if lack of regular maintenance should be considered when the costs of recovery are counted. There must be some responsibility for owners to take reasonable servicing precautions regarding high speed travel. A mere MOT certificate doesn't cover it.

[MarkS]

Originally Posted by MarkS

BBC News - 38 killed on smart motorways in last five years
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51236375

"Sir Mike Penning agreed to the expansion in 2010 after a successful pilot on the M42 near Birmingham.
The pilot worked well because there were safe stopping points for motorists, called emergency safety refuges, on average every 600 metres.
But when the scheme was expanded across the country, the safety refuges were placed further apart. On some sections, they are 2.5 miles apart."



Apparently one warning sign on the M25 had been out of action for 336 days.

Corporate manslaughter charges comes to mind.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Police ARE investigating the Roads Agency, Highways England, for criminal corporate manslaughter, after allegations by a widow of a driver killed on a Smart motorway.