Grant Shapps orders fresh review into smart motorway safety

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has commissioned the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to carry out an independent review of safety data for the controversial roads.

A coroner in Sheffield claimed in January that smart motorways “present an ongoing risk of future deaths” after two people were killed when a lorry driver ploughed into their vehicles while they were stationary on the M1 in South Yorkshire.

Jason Mercer, 44, and Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, died when a lorry driven by Prezemyslaw Szuba crashed into their vehicles after they stopped on a stretch of the M1 near Sheffield on June 7 2019.

Fatal M1 crash near Sheffield may have been ‘avoidable’ with hard shoulder, inquest told

Nargis Begum, a 62-year-old grandmother from Sheffield, died on a stretch of the M1 without a hard shoulder near Woodall services in September 2018.

The mother-of-five, who had nine grandchildren, had left a broken-down Nissan Qashqai and was waiting for help when another vehicle collided with the Nissan, sending it crashing into her.

A coroner investigating the tragedy has now referred Highways England, the Government-owned company responsible for maintaining the nation’s motorways, to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider whether corporate manslaughter charges are appropriate

Highways England could face manslaughter charges over Sheffield woman's smart motorway death

The Transport Secretary has also ordered his officials to continue their work with Highways England – the Government-owned company responsible for England’s motorways and major A roads – on “developing possible future options” for reducing accidents on smart motorways.