Widow 'not surprised' by smart motorways anxiety

A woman whose husband was killed on a smart motorway has said she is "not surprised" by new data which reveals drivers' rising anxiety over using them.

Claire Mercer's husband Jason, 44, and Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, died on the M1 near Sheffield in 2019 after a "minor bump" as there was nowhere for them to stand in safety while waiting for help.

A report by the AA found the percentage of drivers who reported feeling nervous over using smart motorways had risen from 23% a year ago to 49%.

Mercer said: "I get messages these days from people telling me they don't see their family as much or they've had to change their job just to avoid them."

The lorry driver who hit both men, Prezemyslaw Szuba, was jailed for 10 months in 2020.

Judge Jeremy Richardson said: "Had there been a hard shoulder, or had the victims driven on for another mile to the refuge, this catastrophe would never have occurred."

During an inquest after the crash, Coroner David Urpeth said smart motorways without a hard shoulder carried "an ongoing risk of future deaths".

Most smart motorways have had their hard shoulders permanently removed, relying on automated technology to detect broken-down vehicles and close affected lanes, but figures have previously shown the technology is not always reliable.

Others still have a hard shoulder, but it can be converted into an additional lane for drivers to help with traffic flow.

The AA surveyed 12,705 drivers, with 46% saying they felt "nervousness or anxiety on 'smart' motorways with no hard shoulder".

This has doubled from 23% a year ago.

AA president Edmund King said: "What the AA and our members would like to see is the return of the hard shoulder in a controlled motorway environment.

"Until that concern is properly addressed, it's hard to see confidence in 'smart' motorways recovering."

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced in 2023 that it would not create any new smart motorways, but there were no plans to scrap those that already exist.

Mercer, the founder of the Smart Motorways Kill campaign, said this was "absolute madness".

"Dealing first with the ones that weren't even built was the wrong way round, they weren't killing us yet, they should've dealt with the existing ones first," she said.

"Then to say they're too dangerous, not reliable enough, and people are too scared of them to build any more - but we've got to keep using the ones we've got?

"On top of that, they have no liability, I was told that National Highways has no legal duty of care, so they can make whatever ludicrous decisions they like."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Smart motorways remain our safest roads in terms of deaths or serious injuries.

"We continue to monitor their performance and have invested significantly to improve them, including rolling out over 150 more emergency areas to give users peace of mind.

"While our roads are ranked amongst the safest in the world, we're raising standards further with our Road Safety Strategy, the first in more than a decade."

Mercer said the loss of her husband "completely changed me as a person".

"I was with him at eight o' clock and by 12 minutes past, he was dead.

"I concentrate on this campaign full-time, and I will until all smart motorways are gone permanently."

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