Families of crash victims back halt to smart M-ways

THE families of people killed on smart motorways have welcomed a Government decision to pause their rollout over safety concerns.

- Steph Spyro

The Transport Secretary confirmed new all-lane running motorways will be halted immediately until five years of safety data is collected.

At least 39 people died on smart motorways between 2015 and 2019, including Meera Naran’s eight-year-old son Dev who was killed in a crash on the M6 in 2018.

She said: “I welcome this pause in the rollout of smart motorways which will give us all a positive opportunity to assess the future of our motorway network. I’m encouraged by the commitment of £900million to improve the safety of motorways, following my campaigning since Dev died.”

Claire Mercer’s husband Jason, 46, was killed alongside Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, after they swapped details following a bump on the M1 near Sheffield in 2019.

The widow has since campaigned for smart motorways to be scrapped.

Naiz Shazad, 33, the son of Nargis Begum, 62, who was killed on the M1 near Sheffield three years ago, previously called for “accountability” over his mother’s death.

Improvements

Sally Jacobs, whose husband was killed on a section of the M1 with no hard shoulder, also welcomed today’s announcement.