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Driver's lobby group Alliance of British Drivers has expressed concern that the lack of a hard shoulder on the proposed M1 Managed Motorway scheme could jeopardise motorists' safety.
In particular, the group is concerned that the modern trend for car manufacturers to substitute a can of foam - that will inflate the tyre until it is repaired - for a proper full size spare wheel will put lives at risk where there is no longer a motorway hard shoulder.
"At motorway speeds, drivers need to be able to pull over as soon as possible in the event of a puncture to prevent the tyre shredding and possibly losing control of the car," commented ABD spokesman Hugh Bladon. "The lack of a hard shoulder on the modern so-called 'Smart Motorways' means drivers have no alternative but to continue to the next 'refuge'. A can of foam will not inflate a shredded tyre, leaving the driver stranded.
"If the Government is determined to do away with the hard shoulder on motorways then it must do more to ensure drivers safety by ensuring car manufacturers provide, at the very least, a space-saver spare tyre, and a full size spare wheel as an option," continued Bladon
This comes in the wake of the Highways Agency announcing a proposal to implement a maximum speed limit of 60mph on a 35-mile stretch of the M1; between 7am to 7pm every day from junction 28, near Matlock, Derbyshire, to junction 35a, at Sheffield and Rotherham, as part of a managed motorway scheme to manage traffic and help reduce congestion and local air pollution.
The M42 around the NEC in Birmingham already operates a hard shoulder running during highly congested periods, and the South-East section of the M25 is about to follow suit between junction 5-7.
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