News & Features

Drivers not using all lanes on ALR Smart Motorways

Posted in General News on Monday, December 12th, 2022

According to a survey of 1,904 drivers conducted by the RAC Foundation almost half (49%) avoid using the first lane on an all-lane running smart motorway. Most drivers (68%) say they have seen motorists using other lanes when the inside lane is free. When asked why they stay out of lane one 77% of the respondents said that they do this because they are afraid they might crash into a stationary broken down vehicle. Over half of the respondents (52%) said they avoided the left-most lane due to the belief that it is most commonly only used by HGV drivers so they would have to overtake very regularly. National Highways has now installed 122 enforcement cameras which automatically detect drivers who ignore lane closures indicated by a red ‘X’ sign on the overhead gantries. The agency is also introducing radar technology to help identify stopped or broken down vehicles more effectively. RAC Road Safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “On top of this our latest research worryingly shows that half of drivers actively avoid using the inside-most lane for a variety of reasons, not least the fear of being crashed into, meaning much of the extra carriageway capacity they were meant to bring is wasted. Motorists know they should always drive in left-most lane they can, but with so many feeling theirs and their passengers’ lives are in jeopardy, it’s going to be very hard to convince them otherwise no matter how much extra safety technology is introduced.

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