The roll-out and safety of smart motorways

Transport Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 26 Feb 2021 Closed: 7 Jul 2022 Parliament page
This inquiry will look at the safety of smart motorways and public confidence in their use as well as their impact upon congestion. Concerns about the safety of smart motorways have been emphasised recently with a number of fatalities on them and criticism by coroners investigating those deaths. In 2020, … Read more
7 Recommendations
4 Conclusions
1 Report
3 Oral sessions
6 Letters
3 Events
Activity timeline 11 events
12 Jan
2022
Report published
2 Nov
2021
Report published
21 Oct
2021
Correspondence
22 Sep
2021
Correspondence
14 Sep
2021
Correspondence
13 Jul
2021
Correspondence
13 Jul
2021
Correspondence
30 Jun
2021
Oral evidence
16 Jun
2021
Oral evidence
15 Jun
2021
Correspondence
19 May
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 3 sessions
30 Jun 2021
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Jill Adam · Department for Transport Mike Wilson · Highways England Nick Harris · National Highways The Baroness Vere of Norbiton · Department for Transport
16 Jun 2021
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Jonathan Spruce · Institution for Civil Engineers Kate Carpenter · Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation Mike Mackinnon · MMB Associates Miss Becky Needham · Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Professor David Metz · UCL Centre for Transport Studies Sarah Simpson · Royal HaskoningDHV
19 May 2021
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Chris Todd · West Midlands Police Edmund King · The AA Elizabeth de Jong · Fuels Industry UK Mr Nicholas Lyes · RAC Motoring Services
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Third Report - Rollout and safety of smart motorways HC 26 2 Nov 2021 11 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
2 Conclusion Accepted
Third Report - Rollout and safety …
We welcome the Department’s acceleration of safety improvements to all-lane running motorways and acknowledge that...
We welcome the Department’s acceleration of safety improvements to all-lane running motorways and acknowledge that the current Secretary of State for Transport and Minister for Roads have, upon their appointment, taken steps to address safety and delivery failures on all-lane … Read more
Government Response
The government states it agrees with the recommendation and will immediately pause the rollout of All-Lane Running (ALR) smart motorway schemes yet to commence construction. This pause will remain until five years of safety data is available for ALR motorways introduced before 2020.
Department for Transport
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8 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - Rollout and safety …
The Government and National Highways should pause the rollout of all-lane running motorways to collect...
The Government and National Highways should pause the rollout of all-lane running motorways to collect more data, to upgrade and then evaluate the safety of existing all-lane running schemes and to consider alternative options for enhancing capacity on the Strategic … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and will pause the conversion of seven Dynamic Hard Shoulder schemes to All-Lane Running motorways until the next Road Investment Strategy. They will consider alternative operating approaches, continue data collection on safety performance, and install further safety measures on existing DHS motorways.
Department for Transport
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10 Recommendation Accepted
Third Report - Rollout and safety …
Controlled motorways, which retain the hard shoulder and have technology to regulate traffic, have the...
Controlled motorways, which retain the hard shoulder and have technology to regulate traffic, have the lowest casualty rates of all types of motorway on the Strategic Road Network. The Department and National Highways should revisit the case for controlled motorways. … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and will revisit the case for controlled motorways, comparing their business case with that of all-lane running motorways. An initial report on this comparison will be published later this year, with updates over the next few years.
Department for Transport
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Government Response AI assessment · 11 of 7 classified
Accepted 3
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 3
Not Addressed 1
Total 7 recs + 4 conclusions
Correspondence 6 letters
21 Oct 2021 Correspondence from John Larkinson, Chief Executive, Office of Rail and Road, relating to the roll-out and safety motorways, dated 17 June 2021
Parliament page
22 Sep 2021 Correspondence from Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Minister for Roads, Buses and Places, relating to smart motorways and publication of Highway Code update, dated 14 September 2021
Parliament page
14 Sep 2021 Correspondence from Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Minister for Roads, Buses and Places, Department for Transport, relating to the roll-out and safety of smart motorways, dated 7 September 2021
Parliament page
13 Jul 2021 Correspondence from Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Minister for Roads, Buses and Places, Department of Transport, relating to the roll-out and safety of smart motorways, dated 9 July 2021
Parliament page
13 Jul 2021 Correspondence from Nick Harris, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Highways England, relating to the Roll-out and safety of smart motorways, dated 8 July 2021
Parliament page
15 Jun 2021 Correspondence to John Larkinson, Chief Executive, Office of Rail and Road, dated 28 May 2021
Parliament page