6 Accepted in Part

The Department and National Highways should: a) retrofit emergency refuge areas to existing all-lane running...

Recommendation
The Department and National Highways should: a) retrofit emergency refuge areas to existing all-lane running motorways to make them a maximum of 1,500 metres apart, decreasing to every 1,000 metres where physically possible; b) commission the Office of Rail and Road to conduct an independent evaluation of the effectiveness and operation of stopped vehicle detection technology, including maintenance and monitoring; and c) insert the emergency corridor manoeuvre into the Highway Code to help emergency services and traffic patrol officers to access incidents when traffic is congested.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to commission the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to evaluate the success of the Action Plan in reducing live lane stops and breakdowns, with annual reports starting later this year. However, the response does not address retrofitting emergency refuge areas or inserting the emergency corridor manoeuvre into the Highway Code.
Paragraph Reference
29
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government Accepted in Part
28. The Government agrees with this recommendation and will commit to evaluating how successful the Stocktake and Action Plan has been in relation to live lane stops, including breakdowns. 29. We will be asking ORR to evaluate the success of the Action Plan in relation to reducing the incidences of live lane stops including breakdowns, reducing the time for which people are at risk, and educating drivers on what to do. This will include assuring that each action has been successfully delivered by National Highways and that the desired outcomes are being achieved. We will ask ORR to report on this annually, starting later this year. 30. We will also consider the benefits of ORR reporting on wider actions undertaken by National Highways to improve safety on the SRN more generally, mirroring what they do for the rail sector.
Source
Committee Transport Committee
Inquiry The roll-out and safety of smart motorways
Report Third Report - Rollout and safety of smart motorways 02 Nov 2021 HC 26
View on Parliament website
Addressee Bodies
Department for Transport
Timeline
Recommendation age 4.7 yrs
Report published 02 Nov 2021