Calls to ban smart motorways have intensified after a coronor’s ruling that a disabled man’s life could have been spared if a hard shoulder had been available.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been under mounting pressure to ban the polarising roads after pledging to do so during the Tory leadership race and, according to the Daily Mail, an announcement could come as soon as next week.
David Levett, 53, who had cerebral palsy, was sitting in the rear seat of his carer’s Seat Leon when it was hit from behind by a lorry while on a section of the M1 that had been converted into ‘all-lane running’ – which does not have a hard shoulder.
David’s sister Angela Mower, 57, has demanded Mr Sunak steps in to stop the construction of smart motorways.
She said: “The Government needs to look into these because people are still dying. Highways England keep reassuring everyone they are safe but clearly they are not.”
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An inquest, which took place at The Guildhall coroner’s court in Northampton, heard that Mr Levett’s carer had halted on the inside lane to assist his brother-in-law, whose Volvo had broken down.
He planned to drive him to safety, however an HGV charged into the back of the Seat as the pair got into it.
Mr Levett passed away following surgery after the crash on January 28 2018.
“If the hard shoulder had been available… it’s quite possible that David Levett would not have died,” said senior coroner Anne Pember.
Levett’s carer and his brother-in-law successfully recovered from their injuries.
The HGV driver, however, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, though he bolted back to his home country of Turkey.
Mrs Mower continued: “Do foreign lorry drivers even known about smart motorways? I suspect they have no idea”.
The inquest also heard that Stationary Vehicle Detection, which informs control room staff to close a lane due to a broken down vehicle, was yet to be installed at the time.
Despite vowing to halt the construction of the “unsafe” smart motorways during the Conservative leadership contest, Mr Sunak is yet to act.
An announcement on their banning could come as early as next week following Cabinet discussions, it has been reported.
National Highways has said it has “committed £900 million to safety improvements”.
