Smart motorway drivers told to ‘go left’

Highways England has launched its biggest ever campaign in a bid to help drivers feel safer on smart motorways.

The multi-million pound public information drive tells motorists to “go left” in the event of a breakdown. To the tune of the Pet Shop Boys’ hit single ‘Go West’, drivers are urged to find their nearest emergency refuse area, hard shoulder or exit.

The campaign is part of an 18-point action plan published by the Department for Transport in 2020. The transport secretary called on Highways England to improve road safety and public confidence on smart motorways.

Highways England acting chief executive, Nick Harris, said: “No one plans to break down on a motorway, but if the unexpected happens then I want all motorists to know what to do so that they can keep themselves and others safe.

“This campaign is just one of the many steps we are taking to invest in our network with safety as our number one priority, doing everything we can to help drivers feel confident on our motorways.”

Not everybody is convinced. Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason and another driver, Alexandru Murgeanu, were killed on a smart motorway, slammed Highways England, saying she thought the campaign was a “spoof”.

Writing on Facebook, the 44-year-old said: “I thought it was a spoof. They had two people dressed as squashed flies on the windscreen – did they not see the analogy?

“What happened to our loved ones, without going into the details, they weren’t in their vehicles when they were hit. This is a silly, bad joke about a serious and hurtful subject.”

Meera Naran, who is campaigning for Safer Drivers and Safer Roads following the death of her eight-year-old son Dev on the M6, supports the initiative. She said: “Having successfully campaigned for the implementation of the 18-point safety plan – this education campaign is an integral step in the right direction to support motorists.

“I’m pleased to see it is being supported by so many key road safety organisations and my only hope is that it will help save lives.”

RAC road safety spokesperson, Simon Williams, added: “Suffering a breakdown on a motorway or a high-speed road can be one of the most terrifying things that drivers might encounter, so it’s important everyone has a clear understanding of what to do in that situation.

“We’re pleased to see Highways England addressing this issue in its new campaign which encourages drivers to ‘go left’. This is a simple and effective message that will hopefully improve safety on our motorways and major dual carriageways by reducing the number of vehicles that stop in live lanes.”

Go left: the key messages

• Put your left indicator on and move into an emergency area, onto a hard shoulder, motorway service area, left-hand verge or A-road lay-by.
• Switch your hazard warning lights on, even during the day. If it’s dark, use side lights and in poor visibility use fog lights as well.
• On a motorway without a hard shoulder, it should be possible for most vehicles experiencing a problem to reach an emergency area. These are regularly spaced and are marked by a clearly visible orange road surface and blue signs featuring an orange SOS telephone symbol.

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