TV presenters Suzi Perry and Ortis Deley, are working with National Highways to produce helpful, practical videos featuring advice and information about using smart motorways.
Footage shows the pair driving on sections of smart motorways, discussing the differences from conventional motorways, and explaining how technology is used to keep traffic moving and motorists as safe as possible.
The videos also describe how signs and signals give motorists information about the road ahead, including possible obstructions in the road. They also discuss the technology being rolled out across the country to detect vehicles that have stopped in live traffic lanes.
They explain what to do in an emergency, and also explain Red X signs, emergency areas, how all lane running sections of motorways operate and the use of variable speed limits to reduce congestion.
The initiative comes after research conducted in 2021 found that just 48% of drivers know how to use smart motorways, with 25% saying they don’t even know what a smart motorway is.
National Highways Customer Service Director, Mel Clarke, comments: “Everyone can learn to be a better and safer driver.
“We’re investing hundreds of millions of pounds to make England’s motorways and major A-roads even safer, and we can all play our part by making sure we and our loved ones know how to use the network safely.”
Of course we can all learn and the videos may achieve that. What they won’t tell you is that in the pursuit of defensive driving, there is a significant number of experienced drivers who use the second lane instead of the first on smart motorways. This is to avoid the risk of coming up behind an unexpected stopped vehicle and to give a little more time and space to deal with it. That behaviour is what I believe contributes to the data quoted by National Highways to prove their safety and to justify rolling them out. When these drivers disappear… Read more »