Motoring
that motorists should conduct pre-journey vehicle checks to minimise the risk of a breakdown. The results of the survey come a week after a Sheffield coroner ruled the deaths of two men on the M1 in 2019 as an avoidable fatality, if the stretch of motorway had a hard shoulder. Coroner David Urpeth is leading calls for a review into the safety of smart motorways, following the deaths of two men on 7 June 2019 when a lorry crashed into their cars on a stretch of the M1 that had been converted to a smart motorway. Recording a verdict of unlawful killing at Sheffield Town Hall on 18 January, Urpeth said: “Such road layouts present an ongoing risk of future deaths and I will write to Highways England and transport secretary Grant Shapps to request a review.” The two men had exited their vehicles to swap insurance details after colliding with
each other. Had there been a hard shoulder for this exchange to take place safely, the inquest heard, the pair sadly may have survived the incident. The lorry driver has admitted causing the pair’s death by careless driving, for which he was imprisoned last year, but the BBC reports that he told the inquest: “If there had been a hard shoulder on this bit of motorway, the collision would have been avoidable. “If the inside lane not been used for traffic, I would have driven past these two cars, as it would be safer, and they would have been able to come home safely and I would be able to come back home”. Sergeant Mark Brady of South Yorkshire Police concurred: “Had there been a hard shoulder, had Jason and Alexandru pulled on to the hard shoulder, my opinion is that Mr Szuba would have driven clean past them.” Responding to the verdict, Highways England said it was “determined” to improve safety on smart motorways. Source: Autocar www.NorthBoundmagazine.co.uk | 63
