Managed motorways in the United Kingdom

A smart motorway (formerly managed motorway and active traffic management), also known in Scotland as an intelligent transport system, is a section of motorway in the United Kingdom (primarily in England) that employs active traffic management (ATM) techniques to increase capacity through the use of MIDAS technology including variable speed limits and occasionally hard shoulder running and ramp metering at busy times. They were developed at the turn of the 21st century as a cost-effective alternative to traditional carriageway widening, with intended benefits ranging from more reliable journey times to lower vehicle emissions. However, despite the risk of a collision occurring between two moving vehicles being found to be decreased, there has been an acknowledged rise in the incidence of collisions involving vehicles where at least one was stationary in the first few years following the widespread removal of the hard shoulder on the country's busiest sections of motorway. Smart motorways garnered intense criticism from politicians, police representatives and motoring organisations, particularly from 2020 onwards, after a surge in near miss incidents and dozens of fatalities were revealed.

The term controlled motorway is sometimes used for schemes that use variable speed limits without hard-shoulder running (for example, the M25 motorway between junction 27 and junction 30).

History

The traffic management technique, including hard shoulder running, was first used in its full specification in the UK on the M42 motorway in the West Midlands in 2006. A higher speed limit of was trialled on the southbound carriageway between junctions 4 and 3A from 2008 (a increase on the previous maximum permissible speed).

In 2007 plans were announced by the then secretary of state for transport, Ruth Kelly, to extend the scheme to two sections of the M6 motorway near Birmingham (4-5 and 8a-10) by 2011 at a cost of £150 million. The emergency refuges were to be extended to every on the roll out. A study into the use of ATM on the M1, M4, M20 and M25 motorways was also announced, however the Department for Transport had decided to proceed with a scheme to widen sections of the M25.

A £2 billion contract was announced to extend the scheme to sections of the M1, M4, M5, M6, M60 and M62 in February 2010 with a further announcement by the new government in October 2010. The contract was awarded to four delivery partners Balfour Beatty, Carillion and joint ventures BAM Nuttall/ Morgan Sindall Group and Costain Group/Serco. In January 2012, Carillion won the contract for M6 junctions 5 - 8 near Birmingham for £126 million.

From 2013 the current term ''smart motorway'' was used by the Highways Agency (now National Highways) to promote the technology to road users.

In January 2018, the contracts previously awarded to Carillion were taken on by Kier, following the former's entry into compulsory liquidation.

In April 2021, the government announced that new smart motorways would include radar, to detect vehicles which had stopped, and additional cameras to aid the detection (and subsequent prosecution) of motorists using lanes which are marked as being closed. The government stated that existing smart motorways would have these additional safety features installed by September 2022.

Features

Emergency areas

In 2017, Highways England trialled a new type of emergency area on the M3 that would be more visibly obvious to motorists. A new sign accompanied the trial which is similar in design to European emergency area signs. These changes have subsequently been trialled on the M5 and M25 with the signs being authorised by the Department for Transport for further use.

Emergency stopping areas, when used correctly, are safer than hard shoulders. However, the Government has subsequently reduced the specification of smart motorway design, increasing the minimum interval between refuge areas, possibly decreasing the likelihood of a driver being able to reach a place of relative safety in the event of a breakdown.

Stopped vehicle detection

Some (18% in 2019) smart motorways employ stopped vehicle detection (SVD). The Government states that all lane running motorways are designed to operate safely without the need for SVD, however SVD reduces the time it takes for National Highways control room staff to close the traffic lane to just one minute.Third Report - Rollout and safety of smart motorways
House of Commons, Transport Committee Inquiry, The roll-out and safety of smart motorways. 2 November 2021, link accessed 4 May 2022.

Text messages

Early systems used dot matrix signs on gantries to display short text messages, with smaller variable signs above each lane and to the sides of the carriageway. Current smart motorway systems often use the "MS4" sign type which can include pictograms from the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions.

Variable lane control

To close a lane to traffic, the motorway gantries display a red X to signify a lane closure. The red X is a legal requirement for motorists to comply and failure to comply can result in a £100 fine and three points. Compliance is at 92%, which has not decreased since 2019. Road users want to see a 'zero tolerance' approach towards vehicles disobeying a red X.

Effectiveness

Reduced relative cost

In 2007 it was estimated that ATM could be introduced within two years at a cost of around £5-15 million per mile as opposed to 10 years and £79 million per mile for widening.

In Autumn 2018, alteration of the M4 between junctions 3 and 12 was commenced, a length of 32 miles (51 km). Construction was completed in March 2022, but as of July 2022 calibration work of some sections is still underway. The cost was £848 million, representing £26.5 million per mile (£16.6 million per km). Emergency stopping areas in this section of the M4 have been provided every 1.3 miles (2.1km).

Initial experiments

The M42 scheme was initially run as an experiment and a Highways Agency report into the first six months of the scheme showed a reduction in variability of journey times of up to 27%. The journey time statistics can be broken down to show that northbound journey times were reduced by 26%, equating to an average reduction of 4 minutes as compared to the period when the variable speed limits were on, but the hard shoulder was not being used, and 9% southbound (equating to 1 minute) during the afternoon rush hour. The report also indicated a fall in the number of accidents from over 5 a month to 1.5 per month on average. The Agency did state that normally accident statistics should be compared over a 3-year period, so the initial results should be treated with caution. They also stated that no accidents had been caused by hard shoulder use as a normal lane. The report also stated that there had been a 10% fall in pollution and 4% fall in fuel consumption. The report also indicated a compliance rate of 98% to the indicated speed limits when using the hard shoulder. For comparison, before the introduction of mandatory speed limits at road works, the compliance rate was 10% as opposed to 89% afterwards, showing a similar effect.

Road capacity

All lane running motorway upgrades improve journey capacity. The Government argues that this improves safety as it encourages drivers away from statistically more dangerous rural or A roads. A smart motorway can carry 1,600 additional vehicles per hour in each direction, and up to 11,000 journeys a day.Written evidence submitted by the Department for Transport (RSM0113)
''committees.parliament.uk''. Retrieved 8 May 2022.

In the short term, smart motorway upgrades can reduce journey times. For example, on the M6 around Crewe, the average commuting time decreased by an average of 40 minutes.

Public opinion

A 2022 survey found that 73% of drivers will not use the leftmost lane on a smart motorway. This is an increase since 2019 (56%).

According to the RAC, 'only 23% of drivers trust that the highways authority can identify a stopped vehicle and respond accordingly'.

In 2022, 22% of drivers say they do not feel confident on motorways without a hard shoulder. This is compared to 12% on motorways with a hard shoulder and 8% on dual carriageways (normally without a hard shoulder).Smart motorways stocktake: Second year progress report 2022
National Highways, May 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.

Emergency refuge areas are currently provided up to 2.5 km apart. 63% of drivers believed this is too far and 79% of drivers are concerned they would not be able to reach a refuge in time.

Emergency vehicle access

There is some concern over the ability of emergency services and traffic patrol officers to access incidents on smart motorways when traffic is congested.

Safety

All lane running schemes - whereby the hard shoulder is removed - appear to be more unsafe because they design out the current principal safety mechanism on motorways - the hard shoulder. An independent review concluded that it is beyond doubt that the removal of a hardshoulder is less safe than any other form of 'smart' motorway.

Within Great Britain, motorways are the safest roads to travel on. Drivers are more likely to be killed or seriously injured per mile driven on an A-road than on a motorway, even more so on single-carriageway A-roads.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936811/smart-motorway-safety-evidence-stocktake-and-action-plan.pdf

Smart motorways theoretically 'reduce some forms of risk' because traffic speeds become more consistent, technology monitors and alerts drivers to hazards and because emergency areas are safer places to stop than hard shoulders. In fact, 2012 Highways England analysis found that All-lane-running smart motorways were expected to reduce risk by 20% over conventional three lane motorways.

Monitoring of slight and serious casualties was undertaken by Highways England and the Department for Transport between 2015 and 2018. While the statistics showed a slight increase in serious and slight casualties and a slight decrease in fatal casualties, accuracy is limited because roads are not necessarily compared like for like. Per 100 million miles travelled, the following were measured –

When individual sections of motorway are considered before and after conversion to all lane running, statistics show a risk of relative personal injury collisions (among the top 21 hazards or 90% of total risk) of just around 81% of the previous total. While an increase in vehicle stopping in the running lane is measured, hazards which cause personal injury such as vehicles drifting off carriageway, driving too fast and tailgating are reduced considerably. However, a study shows that when a smart motorway was installed on the M6, it failed to reduce the impact of accidents, and in fact led to a rise by half over five years in accidents.

The introduction of emergency stopping areas is aimed to replace hard shoulders. Emergency stopping areas, when used correctly, are safer than hard shoulders. On hard shoulders, there remains a risk from personal safety. There were 100 casualties on the hard shoulder in 2017 and 1 in 12 fatalities on motorways occur while the person is in the hard shoulder. 1 of every 14 fatal casualties on English motorways occur to vehicles on, leaving or entering the hard shoulder. Analysis from Highways England shows a reduction in personal injury collisions in 'places of relative safety' (i.e. not in an operational traffic lane) when all lane running is in use. However, the Government has subsequently reduced the specification of smart motorway design, increasing the minimum interval between refuge areas, possibly decreasing the likelihood of a driver being able to reach a place of relative safety.

When all lane running is in use, the risk of breaking down in a live lane as a proportion of total breakdowns doubles, compared with motorways with a permanent hard shoulder, and increases, compared with motorways with a dynamic hard shoulder. Between 2016 and 2020, 243,701 live lane breakdowns occurred on the strategic road network. More than half of these took place on motorways with a hard shoulder, though live lane breakdowns are less likely to be recorded on non-smart than smart motorways. It is still lower proportional risk than breaking down on an A-road. The chance of a collision when broken down in a live lane is small. On all lane running schemes, an average of two live lane breakdown collisions occur on each section each year (making up 17% of all KSI collisions). Therefore, it can be said that while the risk of breaking down in a live lane increases, the risk of collision when broken down in a safer place decreases.

Most collisions which occur on the road network occur between moving, rather than stopped, traffic. For example, on all-lane running motorways between 2016 and 2020, 76 collisions happened involving at least one stopped vehicle and 1,370 happened involving no stopped vehicles.

Overall, Government statistics show that all lane running smart motorways register well on safety performance. Statistics clearly demonstrate a decrease in personal injury collision and casulty rates compared with the national trend. On individual conversions, a decrease in recorded after introduction of all lane running. There was effectively no change in the Killed & Seriously Injured collision and casualty rates.

However, ''Highways Magazine'' revealed that in the long-term, smart motorways may become more dangerous because the extra space they create is taken up by increased traffic.

Fatalities

Between 2015 and 2020, the total fatalities in the UK attributed to smart motorways number at least 38. This is a proportion of total fatalities on the motorway network, which varies year on year. For example, in 2016, there were 77 deaths of the motorway network and in 2015, there were 92 deaths.

Out of total fatalities on England's road network in 2020, 0.64% took place on all-lane running and dynamic hard shoulder motorways, which collectively carried 3.29% of traffic in England. Smart motorways are the safest in terms of fatality rates, as demonstrated in the table below.

In September 2018, a woman was killed after her car broke down in an area with no hard shoulder and was hit by another vehicle. Warning signs were not activated until 22 minutes after the breakdown, and the coroner criticised the smart motorway system for not making it clear to drivers that "the onus is on them" to report breakdowns.

Per mile travelled, fatal casualty rates are a third higher on conventional motorways.

However, according to ''Highways Magazine'', DfT data shows that the fatality rate on All lane running motorways is higher than conventional motorways. In 2018, the ALR 'live lane' fatality rate was 0.19 per 100,000,000 vehicle miles, compared to 0.14 on conventional motorways. However in 2019, it was 0.14 and 0.13 respectively.

Criticisms

The Campaign for Better Transport argued that whilst it would reduce the need for widening schemes, it did nothing to reduce traffic and CO₂ emissions. Friends of the Earth criticised the scheme as "widening on the cheap" and also pointed to a possible increase in vehicle emissions. Highways England argue that ATM reduces the environmental impact in regards to widening as it is carried out within the existing boundaries of the motorway as well as a possible improvement in local air quality due to smoother traffic flow.

The RAC cited a study in the Netherlands that showed drivers using the hard shoulder when they were not permitted, increasing the risk of a collision for vehicles stopped. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents also expressed concern that emergency services would take longer to reach an incident. The Highways Agency rejected this concern based on the of dual carriageway that does not have a hard shoulder. Disability groups were concerned that some drivers would not be able to access the emergency phones or even exit their vehicles, leaving them at increased risk. Ruth Kelly, former Secretary of State for Transport stated that these schemes were useful, but that motorway widening would still be considered where it was appropriate.

The scheme has attracted criticism from motoring organisations such as the AA, who in 2018 reported that many members were concerned that speed limits were being imposed without good cause in situations where traffic was light. In response, Highways England stated that they had "started a comprehensive review of how variable speed limits are set, including the amount of time they are visible to drivers".

A campaign
Smart Motorways Kill
was set up in 2019 after the death of Jason Mercer and Alexandru Murgeanu on the M1 northbound near junction 34. They were killed when a heavy goods vehicle collided with their stationary vehicles, after they had pulled over following a minor accident. The lane they were in was not closed until after they were killed. The campaign is bringing a judicial review against Highways England to have smart motorways banned and they have also reported H.E to the police for criminal manslaughter. They are also looking at bringing a disability discrimination complaint and class action.

In January 2020, it was announced that a review was planned after freedom of information requests showed that near misses had increased up to 20-fold, and that 38 people had died. The emergency refuge areas (ERA) were placed apart on the M42 pilot scheme, but can be apart on stretches of the M25.

A BBC ''Panorama'' aired on 27 January 2020 alleged that smart motorways had caused multiple deaths in the UK, and that the conversion of part of the M25 to "all-lane running" yielded a 2000% increase in hazardous "near misses".

On 28 January 2020 Police Federation of England and Wales chief, reported ''The Times'' newspaper, John Apter said he "did not like the term 'smart motorways'" because it infers that they are a good idea. "They’re anything but" and "a recipe for disaster. It’s a death trap. It’s inherently dangerous and putting lives at risk."

In January 2020, all "Smart Motorways" were put under review to address safety concerns and determine an action plan. No new such motorways would open until this review was published. On 12 March 2020, the review and action plan was published. It stated changes to the standards for new smart motorways (ones which had not started construction) such as a reduction from up to 1.5 miles to 1 mile between emergency refuge areas (or other qualifying areas) and stranded vehicle detection radars to be installed as part of the project. Other actions it required to be taken is for all Dynamic Hard Shoulder Motorways to be converted into All-Lane-Running by March 2025, Stranded Vehicle Detection radars to be installed on all Smart Motorways within 36 months & a potential national programme to install more ERAs on current smart motorways.

In 2021, Labour Police and Crime Commissioner from South Yorkshire Alan Billings criticised smart motorways. The same year, the government announced the retrofitting of the entire network with radar and improved cameras, and paused the construction of any more smart motorways until this was implemented.

Current smart motorways

The map in this section visually represents the operational and under construction elements of the UK's smart motorway system as of June 2017.

National Highways (England), the South Wales Trunk Road Agent (there are no motorways in North Wales), DfI Roads (Northern Ireland) and Transport Scotland are responsible for the construction and maintenance of smart motorways in their respective countries.

Controlled motorway

Variable speed limits with the hard shoulder operating as it would on a conventional motorway. They have most often been installed where a motorway has previously been widened but with a discontinuous hard shoulder to incorporate existing bridges, therefore using the hard shoulder as a running lane is ruled out. Existing gantries are upgraded to support signals capable of displaying a mandatory speed limit and speed cameras.

Locations

*: J6A-J10, J23A-J24, J25-J28 and J31-J32
*: J10A-J11A
*: J7-8, J8-10 (Eastbound)
*: J1-J1A (southbound)
*: J5-J7
*: J2-J3, J6-J7 (anti-clockwise), J7-J23 and J27-J30
*: J16- M42 J3A (northbound)
*: J3-J3A (eastbound), J7-J9
*: J8-J18
*: J9-J10 (eastbound) and J28-J29
*: J1-J2, J2-J2A (Southbound)
*: J2A-J5
*: M9 J1A-J2 and J2-J3 (southbound)
*: Special road between the M90 in South Queensferry
*: J22-J33
*: Where the A1 meets the new A14
*: Between the A468 and M4 J32 (Southbound)

;Notes

Dynamic hard shoulder running

Variable speed limits with the hard shoulder selectively opened as a running lane during periods when traffic levels are too high for only three lanes of running traffic. When activated, vehicles can use the hard shoulder as a running lane. All lanes are limited to a maximum of 60 mph, but these can be lowered further.

In October 2019, the chief executive of Highways England told MPs that the company has no plans to introduce the configuration to any further section of motorway, after admitting that motorists found the setup 'too confusing' to use. A study conducted in the previous month found that more than half of motorists surveyed would not drive on a hard shoulder even if it was open.

A stocktake taken in March 2021 confirmed that all DHSR smart motorways will end the use of them by March 2025 by converting all current DHSR to ALR.

Locations

*: J10-J13
*: J19-J20
*: J15-J17
*: J4-J10A
*: J3A-J7
*: J26-J28 and J29-J30 (eastbound)

All lane running

Variable speed limits with the hard shoulder removed and converted to a permanent running lane.

Locations

*: J16-J19, J24-25, J28-J31, J32-J35A and J39-J42
*: J2-J4A
*: J4A-J6
*: J2-J4, J11A-J13 and J16-J19
*: J3-J5
*: J8-J10
*: J5-J6, J6-J7 (clockwise) and J23-J27
*: J10-J12, J18-J20, J25-J26 and J29-J30 (westbound)

;Notes

Through-junction running

Isolated stretches on a smart motorway where the hard shoulder becomes a permanent running lane through a junction and immediately surrounding the slip roads.

Locations

*: J10, J11, J11A and J12
*: J10

Smart motorways by geographic area

England

*Bedfordshire
** M1
*Berkshire
**'' M4'', M25
*Buckinghamshire
**'' M1'', '' M4'', M25
*Cheshire
** M6, '' M56'', M62
*Derbyshire
** M1
*Essex
** M25
*Gloucestershire
** M4, M5
*Greater London
**'' M4'', M25
*Greater Manchester
**'' M6'', '' M56'', M60, M62
*Hampshire
** M3, '' M27''
*Hertfordshire
** M1, M25
*Kent
** M20, M25
*Leicestershire
** M1
*Merseyside
**'' M6''
*Northamptonshire
** M1
*Nottinghamshire
** M1
*South Yorkshire
** M1
*Staffordshire
** M6
*Surrey
** M3, M23, M25
*Warwickshire
** M6, M42
* West Midlands
** M6, M42
*West Sussex
** M23
*West Yorkshire
** M1, M62
*Worcestershire
** M5

Northern Ireland

*Belfast
** M1, A12

Scotland

*Edinburgh
** M9, M90
*Fife
** M90, A823(M)

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