Rotherham MP demands Government abandons smart motorways after deaths

During a debate tomorrow in Westminster Hall, the MP will urge the Government to restore the hard shoulder across the motorway network.

The all-lane running motorway between junctions 32 and 35a of the M1, which runs through the MP’s Rotherham constituency, has seen four deaths in recent years, including that of the politician’s constituent, Jason Mercer.

The 44-year-old died alongside Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, from Mansfield, when the motorists stopped on the smart motorway near Meadowhall to exchange details after a minor crash.

A lorry crashed into their vehicles and that driver was jailed for 10 months for causing death by careless driving but Mr Mercer’s wife, Claire, said the wrong person was prosecuted because smart motorways should never have been given the go-ahead in the first place.

In her speech, Ms Champion will outline the risks of removing the hard shoulder and the inadequacy of technology intended to ensure the safety of motorists.

She said: “People are dying. And yet the Government continues to delay, searching for an answer that is staring them in the face. Had Jason Mercer been able to pull into the hard shoulder, he could still be alive. Claire Mercer could still have her husband.

“The Government can prevent further loss of life. But to do so, they need to recognise something even the former Minister who commissioned them has admitted. They were a mistake.”

The MP will also highlight evidence from National Highways that shows that removing the hard shoulder more than triples the risk of incidents leading to death or serious injury.

She will say: “The rate of incidents involving stopped vehicles in which someone was killed or seriously injured on controlled motorways was 0.06 per hundred million vehicle miles travelled. For all lane running motorways, this was a staggering 0.19 per hundred million vehicle miles travelled.

“In the name of increasing capacity on the cheap, National Highways have more than tripled the likelihood of serious accidents involving stationary vehicles.

“The Government have been warned time and time again that removing the hard shoulder greatly increases the risks faced by motorists. Their own data shows this all too clearly. Yet they continue to reject calls to undo their own tragic mistake.

“The Prime Minister himself, during his leadership campaign, branded smart motorways unsafe. But now he is in office, he needs more evidence. How much more evidence does he need? How many more people have to die?

“The sad reality is that the Government is prioritising increasing motorway capacity on the cheap and gambling the lives of motorists. We don’t need more evidence to see what is already staring us in the face. Smart motorways are deadly. If the Government truly cared about the safety of motorists, they would restore the hard shoulder across the motorway network.”

South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings is backing the MP’s campaign.

He said: “It has always been my view that it is inherently dangerous when a vehicle stops, for whatever reason, in a live lane and there is no hard shoulder. This has led to fatalities and to numerous near misses. and a refuge is too far away. It builds danger into the motorway network when we should be designing danger out.

“When a vehicle breaks down in a live lane there will always be a time lapse before a controller is able to show a red cross above it on the gantry and stop other vehicles using the lane. This puts lives at risk. As long as smart motorways are in use the travelling public are always in danger.”