To think smart motorways were never a good idea?

[bluebottle23]

I've just been watching a news segment about smart motorways and can't fathom how they ever got approved. Literally an accident waiting to happen and sadly many did. I hate driving on a smart motorway, especially with my daughter and just seeing aerial footage of one there is literally nowhere safe for you to get out stand and wait. I'd rather be stuck in slow moving traffic than risk my family's life on one of these motorways.

YANBU.
I would be terrified if I ever had break down on one.

I could never work out why they thought it was a good idea.

Agreed.

Yes it’s a classic case of a policy thing that lots of people in govt seemed to want but it was never really clear why.

maybe the people who make big overhead gantries have got a good lobbying operation? (Half joking but I’d love to know the real “pro” argument as have never heard it)

Yanbu

Just makes my blood boil the stupid fucks who get paid a shit tonne of money to come up with and implement these things without giving a shit about people's lives. As the woman (who sadly lost her husband) on the news segment said the government have just changed the rules now as it will save them money. They weren't interested in stopping them when it was just about saving people's lives!

I see the logic of them but no, they should never be allowed to remove the hard shoulder. Variable speeds are sensible.

I avoid driving on the inside lane, I still treat them like a hard shoulder! Ludicrous idea.

We won't drive on them, unless absolutely necessary. We've worked out a good route from where we live in the NW to my family in the East Mids which uses A roads and non-smart motorways. I do wish sat navs had the option to avoid smart motorways, as opposed to all motorways.

IF the technology was completely foolproof (it isn't, by a long way) and IF lots of people weren't stupid (lots of people are) then they could have worked. But it isn't and lots are so there we are. I had a jolly few minutes on the M4 a few weeks ago where I happened upon a car broken down in the left hand lane of a smart motorway. No warning, nothing. Very luckily the visibility was good and the motorway not busy.

They might have been feasible if the original spec for emergency laybys and cameras had been adhered to - but it was heavily watered down to save money, of course. The project should be stopped immediately, and overall I would much prefer to see enormous investment in excellent public transport.

It's a cost saving measure to prevent the disruption and cost of having to widen the roads, things which are generally unpopular with the public.

In some areas also impossible to widen the road due to other development around them.

It baffles me it was ever deemed acceptable. Luckily my county has no motorways and to get to a smart motorway with no hard shoulder is a very rare occurance

They were always a ridiculous idea.

It's scary and dangerous enough being on the hard shoulder of a busy motorway let alone a live lane.

Oh my gosh @A34 that sounds horrible! Glad you're all ok xx

Agreed, stupid idea and I am not convinced people even knew what they were!

To me it was always obvious that they were a thoroughly bad, dangerous idea.
Whoever thought otherwise and gave the go-ahead, should IMO have been made to fake a breakdown on a smart motorway, on a dark, rainy night, in the rush hour, with his entire family (preferably including children) in the car - and then see how he felt about them.

But being a politician, of course he’d lie and say it was fine - assuming he wasn’t dead or smashed up in hospital.

I understand what people are saying... but A roads like the A1 have the same speed limit, no hard shoulder and in places there are gaps to cross over to the opposite carriageway. And these roads don't seem to have similar negative views.

YANBU at all.

@PuttingDownRoots difference being there aren't four lanes of traffic to content with

YANBU.
Surely the people approving the policy can't have thought that they would have broken down with their kids/elderly parents in the car. But surely they could imagine that??
Maybe it was agreed thinking driverless cars would have been working by now?

Could some explain what a smart motorway is please?

NON-driver and have no idea

Non -driver here too This BBC article has a clear explanation of what they are:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65288852

I get nervous as a passenger when there's no hard shoulder and DH who is the household driver absolutely loathes them.

You still have no where to go when you breakdown.

I see this as an argument for improving duel carriageway A Roads not decreasing safety on motorways. The A1 can be busier than 4 Lane motorways.

Very frightening recording of a 999 call from someone who broke down on a smart motorway. The family of 5 survived, thankfully.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51236375