The RHA has welcomed an announcement from the DfT that the rollout of new all-lane smart motorways is to be suspended.
New schemes will be paused until there is a full five years of safety data on current projects.
The news came alongside a £900m government pledge for additional safety measures for existing all-lane running motorways (ALR).
An investment of £390m in 150 additional emergency areas for drivers will also be put in place, creating a 50% increase in places to stop by 2025.
Commenting, RHA executive director, policy and public affairs, Rod McKenzie, said: “The RHA supports smart motorways as they reduce congestion and pollution by keeping traffic moving.
“But the advantages of all-lane running must never outweigh safety. It’s vital that safety comes first so this pause is welcome, as is additional funding for upgrading safety measures on existing all-lane running motorways. It is also crucial that these safety measures include better education about the use of smart motorways for all road users.”
A Transport Committee report concluded that hard shoulders do not always provide a safe place to stop, and by reducing motorway capacity, they could put more drivers and passengers at risk of death or serious injury if they were to divert onto less safe local roads.
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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “One of my first actions as Transport Secretary was to order a stocktake of smart motorways and since then, I have worked consistently to raise the bar on their safety. I am grateful to the Transport Committee and to all those who provided evidence for its work.
“While our initial data shows that smart motorways are among the safest roads in the UK, it’s crucial that we go further to ensure people feel safer using them.
“Pausing schemes yet to start construction and making multi-million-pound improvements to existing schemes will give drivers confidence and provide the data we need to inform our next steps. I want to thank safety campaigners, including those who have lost loved ones, for rightly striving for higher standards on our roads. I share their concerns.”
National Highways chief exectuive Nick Harris said: “We have listened to public concerns about smart motorways and we are fully committed to taking forward the additional measures the Transport Committee has recommended.
“While we pause those all lane running schemes yet to start construction we will complete the schemes currently in construction, we will make existing sections as safe as they can possibly be and we will step up our advice to drivers so they have all the information they need.
“We are doing this because safety is our absolute priority and we want drivers to not just be safer, but also to feel safe on our busiest roads.”
In line with the Committee's recommendations, National Highways will pause the conversion of Dynamic Hard Shoulder (DHS) motorways – where the hard shoulder is open at busy times – into All Lane Running motorways, while it investigates alternative ways of operating them to make things simpler for drivers.
National Highways will also install technology to detect stopped vehicles on these sections.
