UK’s smart motorways to be reviewed after huge rise in near-misses
BBC Panorama study shows increase on M25 from 72 to 1,485 in five years since conversion
Britain’s network of smart motorways – where drivers can use the hard shoulder – is being urgently reviewed by the government after it was discovered that it resulted in 20 times more near-misses on the M25 London ring road alone.
The death toll on stretches of smart or managed motorways has reached 38 in the last five years, including many in accidents that motoring organisations believe were avoidable after breakdowns.