A third of drivers feel much less safe on any type of smart motorway than they did three years ago, according to a new AA survey of over 13,500 motorists. Meanwhile, two-thirds of respondents said they feel safer on conventional motorways with a continuous hard shoulder.
The survey found that drivers were most concerned about motorways where the hard shoulder is switched on and off at peak times, with 34% saying they now feel “a lot less safe” on these roads. Other All Lanes Running (ALR) motorways, which have no hard shoulder but feature emergency laybys at varying intervals, also caused anxiety among respondents.
One driver told the AA: “I believe smart motorways are incredibly dangerous.” Another said: “I do not think I would feel safe if I broke down on one,” while a third described them as “anxiety inducing.”
The findings support calls for change, with 60% of drivers wanting the existing smart motorway network converted back to a traditional layout with a permanent hard shoulder. Only 11% believe smart motorways should remain in their current form, while 9% support switching to “Dynamic Hard Shoulder” schemes, and 14% favour turning them into “Controlled Motorways” with enforced speed limits.
The AA has long opposed smart motorways, citing safety concerns since their introduction in 2010. Between 2010 and 2024, at least 79 people have been killed on smart motorways, and research suggests that breaking down on one without a hard shoulder makes drivers three times more likely to be killed or seriously injured.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for The AA, said: “Given the choice between ‘smart’ motorways relying on technology or motorways with a hard shoulder, drivers are clear which they prefer.
“In the last few years, there have been numerous reports of signal outages and CCTV failures across the network. It is vital the overdue Stocktake is released so we can understand the impact of these technical failures.
“More emergency areas will help, but drivers are frustrated with the perceived lack of urgency to complete the work. While many upgrades have been completed, there are several major motorways that only began work last year.
“Both The AA and drivers say this experiment has failed and urge for the reinstatement of a permanent hard shoulder.”
The UK government previously committed nearly £1bn to improve smart motorway safety, including 150 additional emergency areas to reduce distances between safe stopping points. However, with only half of these completed and the remainder under construction on major routes including the M1, M3, M4, M5, M20, and M25, the AA is calling for an urgent review of smart motorway policies.
