RAC wants return of hard shoulders on motorways

MINISTERS are being urged to reinstate the hard shoulder on smart motorways.

The RAC issued the plea exactly a year after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled all future planned smart motorway projects, citing financial pressures and a lack of public confidence in the roads.

It is a day after the 10-year anniversary of the first stretch of all-lane running (ALR) smart motor-way - using the hard shoulder as a permanent live traffic lane - opening on the M25 in Hertfordshire.

ALR smart motorways increased capacity at a lower cost than widening roads.

There have been long-standing safety concerns after fatal incidents in which vehicles stopped in live lanes were hit from behind.