Extract from QSD (Lords) on Smart Motorways - Feb 13
Friday, 14 February 2020 08:08
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con):...I want to take a moment to
consider the alternatives, of which there are essentially three.
First, I know that many such as the AA would scrap smart motorways
and hard-shoulder running lanes and revert to using hard shoulders
as they were originally intended, allowing police, ambulance, fire
and other emergency vehicles to access injured occupants as quickly
as possible. The second option is to increase the number of
existing emergency refuge areas so...Request free trial
(Con):...I want to take a moment to consider the alternatives, of
which there are essentially three. First, I know that many such as
the AA would scrap smart motorways and
hard-shoulder running lanes and revert to using hard shoulders as
they were originally intended, allowing police, ambulance, fire and
other emergency vehicles to access injured occupants as quickly as
possible. The second option is to increase the number of existing
emergency refuge areas so that, in the event of a breakdown, there
is more chance of a vehicle reaching the emergency refuge area.
Thirdly, we could widen existing carriageways or increase the
number of lanes from three to four, albeit they may be
narrower...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Transport () (Con):...What does one do if a vehicle is
stopped on a live lane? What happens next? I noted reports in the
media that the AA will not let its patrols stop in
live lanes to help stranded motorists. That is very good, because
they are absolutely not expected to. Highways England worked
closely with the entire recovery industry to develop guidance on
safe recovery from smart motorways. Vehicle recovery operators are
never expected to work in a live lane on a motorway—not just a
smart motorway—unless the scene has already been made safe by
traffic officers or the police. Throughout the design and
development of smart motorways, there has been extensive
consultation with the emergency services to ensure that they have
safe and effective operating procedures. This includes getting a
vehicle off the road and to a place of safety...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
|
