Paul Barker's blog - 3 March: Not smart enough

Date: 03 May 2016   |   Author:

Having carefully considered my options, I worked out I didn't have many, as the M3 was also shut (for roadworks, I presume.), so I decided to sit it out and hope for the best. Which was the right option because at junction 16 there was no sign that anything out of the ordinary was happening, so I sailed onto the M40 unhindered.

So what on earth is the point in these signs? Giving no information is better than giving incorrect info, so they're actually causing more trouble. It was like the work experience boy had been left in charge, or someone had ducked back to work on the way home from the pub.

And that's before I get onto the amount of times the overhead gantries show 60mph, 50mph or even 40mph limits on free-flowing clear motorways. Drivers are rapidly losing respect for these smart motorway systems when they are clearly incapable of understanding what is going on. When the limits are dropped for breakdowns or accidents, they still stay in place once you're past the obstruction, and anecdotally, I'm seeing increasing numbers of cars driving at higher speeds between gantries and then braking heavily for where cameras are most likely to be positioned.

In principle, smart motorways are a good thing to help keep traffic flowing freely, but only if sensible, smart people are making the right decisions.

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