OK, so just what is a sensible motorway?

We’re hearing a lot at the moment about so-named ‘smart’ motorways.

So it may well be a dumb question, but exactly what does that imply?

There’s 1 argument that says, when it comes to roads, motorways are already quite sensible.

After all, they’re straight, they’re not punctuated by roundabouts and traffic lights, and if you are fortunate, they get you exactly where you want quicker than any other route.

And let’s not overlook that they are safer – motorists have fewer accidents on them than on other roads.

But now motorways are obtaining even cleverer.

Pioneering ‘smart’ technology has been created to lessen congestion and ease visitors flow, avoiding the require for costly and usually controversial road-widening schemes.

Smart moves

A ‘smart’ motorway scheme includes:

– converting the difficult shoulder into an further lane to decrease visitors jams

– installing more cameras to enforce speed limits, and

– placing up new warning signs to let drivers know about impending hazards.

The 1st ‘smart’ scheme opened on an 8-mile section of the M25 in April last year. Additional sections, a single on the southern element of the M25, and an additional on the northern section, are now also in operation.

Northern lights

But it is not just the south-east of England which is benefiting from intelligent technologies.

In the north, a 17-mile stretch of the ne2rk amongst Junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and Junction 20 of the M62 close to Rochdale is getting upgraded to a intelligent motorway. Function on the project will be completed by the autumn of 2017.

Equivalent schemes are also being rolled out on the M1 and M3.

The challenging shoulder is also being permanently converted into an added lane on a 5-mile stretch of the M62 among junctions 18 and 20 to help ease congestion.

Sign of the times

Once the adjustments are completed, far more than 200 electronic indicators on the M60 and M62 will be in location to warn drivers of site visitors incidents, adjustments in the mandatory speed limit and any lane closures.

There will also be much more CCTV cameras introduced to monitor site visitors levels from the Highways Agency’s Regional Manage Centre at Newton-le-Willows in Merseyside.

Ultimately, there will be emergency ‘refuge’ places accessible on the section of M62 which doesn’t have a tough shoulder. Overhead indicators will display a red ‘X’ indicating which lanes are shut during incidents, permitting police, ambulance and fire services simple access.

At-a-glance sensible motorway golden guidelines

The Highways Agency has published a list of wise motorway rules to aid drivers adapt to the new motorways.

On a smart motorway you should:

• never ever drive under a red “X”


• keep to the speed limit shown on the gantries


• a strong white line indicates the hard shoulder – do not drive in it unless directed.


• a broken white line indicates a regular running lane


• use the refuge locations for emergencies if there’s no hard shoulder


• put your hazard lights on if you break down.

Candid cameras

Most motorists welcome improvements to motorways – right after all, any methods to aid ease congestion are surely a good issue.

Nevertheless, the scheme is not proving so popular with drivers who nudge more than the 70mph speed limit and who are caught out by the new high-tech cameras which face each forwards and backwards.

In contrast to the usual yellow speed cameras, these cameras are grey, and in a position to track across 4 lanes rather than just one.

It has been reported that on one section of the M25 in Kent, between junctions 5 and 6, 668 motorists have been caught in just 2 months right after the cameras were turned on.

These drivers face at least £100 in fines, as well as points on their licence.

Of these 668, 520 received tickets exactly where the limit was set at exactly 70mph. This is regardless of the fact most motorists think they are allowed a margin of grace more than any speed limit – police do not typically stop any person below 79mph.

And then there’s the cost of smart motorways. The bill for these ‘stealth’ cameras alone apparently runs to £2.1m of taxpayers’ cash.

Learn a lot more

You can uncover out a lot more about the development of intelligent motorways on the Highways Agency’s web site. You can register on the site to be kept informed about the news on the scheme.

OK, so just what is a sensible motorway?