Smart motorway fault fixed after crash, court told

National Highways fixed a fault after a smart motorway system failed to warn drivers of a broken-down vehicle on the day of a fatal crash, a court has heard.

The system had not been functioning for five days when Barry O'Sullivan, 45, crashed his grey Ford Transit Connect into the back of a Nissan Micra that had come to a halt in the outside lane of the M4 westbound on 7 March 2022.

A trial at Reading Crown Court heard the collision happened between junctions 11 and 12 in Berkshire and resulted in the death of 68-year-old Pulvinder Dhillon, from London, who was a passenger in the car.

O'Sullivan, of Wixams, Bedfordshire, denies causing death by careless driving.

Thames Valley Police traffic management officer David Edmond told the court that it was his role to look into the circumstances of the crash.

National Highways had been "quite clear that the system wasn't working as it should be" at the time of the crash, he told the court.

He was asked about the defect and whether anyone had looked into it going unnoticed for several days.

In response, Mr Edmond said: "I can tell you that National Highways have put measures in place to ensure that that doesn't happen again."

He added that he had "received assurances" from National Highways "that the fault or problem was resolved and sufficient balances and checks were put in place to ensure that that didn't happen again."

Ian Bridge, who is representing O'Sullivan, told Richard Thorpe, lead investigator on the case, that he understood "something was done" to the smart motorway system after the collision and it was "back up and running" within an hour to 90 minutes.

Mr Thorpe said: "That's my understanding."

Mr Thorpe was asked if he knew why the smart motorway system had failed.

In response, he said that his understanding is that it was a "computer error that caused the fault".

Jurors were previously told that on the day of the collision, the smart motorway was not functioning, and "wasn't showing messages about any obstructions in the road ahead".

O'Sullivan told police in an interview after the crash that there was "no indication of anything untoward" on any of the gantries on that stretch of the smart motorway.

He said "there was definitely no warnings" of the stranded vehicle.

Jurors have previously heard that O'Sullivan was allegedly driving "at speed" in the outside lane before the crash.

The trial continues