Readers give M23 ‘smart motorway’ a thumbs down

The £164million ‘congestion-busting’ scheme to upgrade the M23 near Gatwick Airport was finally completed this week after a period of testing, giving drivers the first opportunity to test the results.

Central to the creation of ‘smart motorways’ is the removal of the hard shoulder which is then converted to a new fourth traffic lane in each direction - boosting the road’s capacity by a third. Laybys are then inserted at intervals along the motorway for emergencies.

A spokesman for Highways England said cutting-edge technology will set the speed limit to match conditions, helps spot any queuing traffic, incidents or broken-down vehicles, and informs drivers about conditions ahead.

However our readers across West Sussex have been expressing their views about the scheme on our Facebook pages with the majority expressing concerns about its safety.

Here is a selection of your views:

Pauline Lague said: “It felt very scary to drive on the M23 without the safety net if the hard shoulder. Hardly any lay-bys. What happens if you break down between lay-bys. A petrifying thought!”

Paula Jane Cunningham said: “Can’t imagine what is smart about removing the hard shoulder and replacing with more cars and sporadic lay-bys, because as we know emergencies don’t always take into account intervals of a safe place to pull over.”

Dave Wilson said: “There is nothing GOOD about this project!!! Another catastrophic waste of money and increased danger to road users!!! An absolute waste of “public” money!!!

“Its a shame that the “public” didn’t get to vote if we should remove a vital piece of the motorway that serves to protect every motorist that uses the road... you can rest assured that this would not happen anywhere.

“More unnecessary deaths imminent...”

Gareth Huntley said: “Nothing ‘smart’ about a motorway without a hard shoulder. Death trap. Whoever conceived this idea has blood on their hands.”

Katie Kelly said: “Not so ‘smart’ without a hard shoulder!! So many avoidable accidents on these ‘smart’ motorways. Would rather my journey time be a little longer than risk breaking down too far from a refuge area!!!

Sarah Honey said: “Having had to pull into hard shoulder when my Mother lost consciousness in the car and wait for an ambulance, I really wouldn’t want to that without a hard shoulder. Very scary with one.”

Adrian Francis said: “Trouble is there is never a consultation with the general public who will actually use it and ask them if it’s a good idea or not, then realize it’s a waste of money.”

Garry Commins said: “What exactly good news is there about the fact that the schemes are so dangerous that the powers that be have shelved any more until they suss out how they can be made safe!!! 30+ deaths last year attributed to so called “smart” motorways that are designed by anyone but, and is once again so called progress on the cheap.”

Alan Room said: “£164 million could of been used to improve the motorway and not make it a grave yard.”

David Everett said: “The most stupid term you could use, they are not smart, they are dangerous and frightening if you have a breakdown.”

Mike Tunstall said: “£164 Million + 100000000hrs of wasted time. For what?”

Geoff Oborne said: “It’s an insane idea and already the government are stopping them being rolled out. Its an out of date idea that’s been shown to cause accidents. The £164m could have been better spent on road improvements rather than making the motorway more dangerous.”

Hannah Pring said: “The lay-bys are far too far apart. They’re not safe at all.”