Widow sues Highways over smart motorway death

[MissMoppet]

Don't know about you but I am horrified and mystified over the increasing use of doing away with the hard shoulder. It would terrify me to have to come to a stop in a busy lane with nowhere to get off. Two days ago a widow instituted proceedings for corporate manslaughter. Here's the report from one newspaper.

Has some genius decided that a few pile-ups are worth expanding the width of our motorways?

Dave

[trikey]

I don’t like the idea at all, even when the hard shoulder is in use they have been many deaths due to collisions with a stationary vehicle.

If your car breaks down, get it off the hard shoulder if possible and onto the verge, if it’s a manual put it in gear and use the starter motor if you have to.

[coolguy]

Such motorways are neither smart (they are inanimate objects, so cannot be!), nor safe. I fear that the few deaths we have heard of so far will be only the tip of the iceberg. I avoid them at all costs when possible.

[Vossy]

I remember that accident but I fear she is not going to get far with it, I hope she doesn't end up losing big time over this, house etc.
Government departments are so adapt at sidestepping these things, in 30 years and after many many deaths there may ... may, be an inquiry into why it happens.
Knee jerk reactions to serious problems seems to be the way with governments here unfortunately.

I wish her luck though. Sad story.

[wraymond]

It might be just a bit realistic if more care was taken with these things if the Ministers concerned held some liability for their decisions involving public safety.

There seems to be no responsibility shouldered where there are budget priorities concerned. Given that Ministers get shunted around whenever it suits favourite-of-the-month theory and therefore there is reason to suppose they might just lack a smidgeon of expertise in the principle involved, the public is entitled to expect better. Instead everybody runs for the hills when it goes pear-shaped.

[LotusLC]

Has to be the most stupid thing ever to use the hard shoulder on these smart motorways. Who in the right mind would implement such a thing.
This whole world need one big shake up , it's been run by some strange people.

[grivas]

Originally Posted by MissMoppet

Don't know about you but I am horrified and mystified over the increasing use of doing away with the hard shoulder. It would terrify me to have to come to a stop in a busy lane with nowhere to get off. Two days ago a widow instituted proceedings for corporate manslaughter. Here's the report from one newspaper.

Has some genius decided that a few pile-ups are worth expanding the width of our motorways?

Dave

A nd just exactly what makes these motorways smart, is there an official definition, who decided on the use of these, where are they so we can avoid them, and more importantly who is the moron, or morons who decided to allow the use of these most dangerous of roads.