Advertisement Feature: How to stay safe on ‘all-lane running’ smart motorways

Advertisement feature from DriveTech

We all think we know how to drive on motorways. Well, ‘smart motorways’ present unique challenges to motorists and it’s crucial that everyone knows how they differ so we can all stay safer when driving.

A smart motorway is, essentially, a section of motorway that uses traffic management measures to increase capacity and reduce congestion along particularly busy stretches.

One controversial element of smart motorways is ‘all-lane running’, which removes the hard shoulder completely and converts it into a usable lane.

These have been widely discussed in media recently, fuelled in part by several deaths and injuries which have been directly or indirectly attributed to smart motorways.

Here’s DriveTech’s key piece of advice to help drivers stay safe when travelling on a smart motorway. First, in the event of a breakdown go left and try to reach an Emergency Refuge Area (ERA) to safely leave your vehicle and call for help.

If you must remain in your vehicle, leave the ignition on, and engine off. This will allow airbags to be deployed in the event of a collision. If you and all occupants can safely exit your car, do so on the left and wait behind the barrier.

Before leaving an ERA contact the regional operations centre who can assist your safe exit.

Research shows that 81% of drivers felt less safe when driving on smart motorways, so we made a handy advisory providing you with advice for driving on one. Download our driving advisory here: https://www.drivetech.co.uk/downloads/

DriveTech also offers dedicated smart motorways workshops and e-learning courses.

For more information, contact us –

tellmemore@drivetech.co.uk