House of Commons · Westminster Hall
22 February 2023 · 2 other contributors · 3,493 words
Opened by Sarah Champion Lab Rotherham
Responding minister: Not recorded
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Sarah Champion raised concerns about smart motorways in Westminster Hall. Response awaited from government.
Key points
Key requests to Government
Champion urged the Minister to recognise that the roll-out of smart motorways was a mistake and to restore the hard shoulder across the motorway network.
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
Sarah Champion highlighted the death of Jason Mercer on a smart motorway section where the hard shoulder was converted to a running lane. She mentioned that there were 79 deaths on Britain's growing smart motorway network up to July 2022 and cited concerns raised by Select Committees about safety risks, particularly regarding the removal of the hard shoulder and the lack of emergency refuges.
Jim Shannon commended the hon. Lady for bringing issues to Westminster Hall and raised concerns about the safety of smart motorways, particularly regarding insufficient signage to inform drivers about no hard shoulder sections. He also questioned whether high speed contributes to panic among drivers stuck on the hard shoulder.
Mr Gullis expressed sympathy for those who have lost loved ones in road accidents, clarified that new smart motorways schemes are paused but ongoing construction continues, and mentioned the investment of £900 million to bolster safety features across smart motorways.