Motorists scared to drive on smart motorway hard shoulders - 'yet to be convinced'
OVER 1,000 British drivers are scared to use the hard shoulder on a smart motorway, according to new research from KwikFit.
GMB: Richard says smart motorways are a 'broken system'
A total of 73 percent of 2,000 drivers surveyed said they avoided using the lane even if signs show it is open for traffic. The proportion of drivers avoiding the hard shoulder has surged in recent years with just 56 percent worried about the lane back in 2019.
A total of 31 percent of motorists had concerns over whether stationary vehicles were up ahead.
A massive 30 percent also didn’t use the hard shoulder simply because they don’t think the new roads are safe.
Many drivers surveyed said they still use the road “as if it’s a normal motorway”.
A total of 22 percent said they were unsure whether or not they should be using the hard shoulder lanes.
READ MORE: UK roads are getting more dangerous as experts warn of 'low priority'
This has dropped from 29 percent in 2019 showing motorists have become more confident in using the roads.
However, it suggests more than one in five road users are still unaware of the basic signs in a safety risk.
A total of 19 percent said they were concerned about not having an escape route while 17 percent don’t like diving close to the verge.
Roger Griggs, communications director at KwikFit said many drivers are “yet to be convinced” over the safety of the roads.
DON'T MISS
'Robust action' is needed for 'dangerous' smart motorway rollout [COMMENT]
'Death trap' smart motorways paused as drivers say 'not good enough' [INSIGHT]
New smart motorway roads will not be built for years [ANALYSIS]
He said: “Smart motorways have been a huge topic of debate and it is absolutely correct for the government to pause their development to both gather data and ensure that the UK’s motorways are as safe as possible.
“It is clear that many drivers are yet to be convinced about the safety of smart motorways and therefore there must be clear transparency about all the data being gathered and the evidence on which future decisions are based.”
The poll also asked road users how the Government should handle smart motorways in the future.
More than one in three (36 percent) said permanent hard shoulders should be reinstated on roads as soon as possible.
One in five said pausing to allow more data is a "sensible approach”.
This will allow specialists to find out whether the new roads were more or less safe than normal motorways.
Just five percent of respondents believe smart motorways are safe or safer than traditional motorways.
The Government announced a five-year pause in the introduction of smart motorways last month to assess their safety.
However, five percent of respondents claim the pause is to let the controversy around smart motorways die down.
They say this will ensure more schemes are introduced when the roads are not such a “hot topic”.