This follows the promise of a Government review into the safety of all lane running sections of motorway by the Transport Secretary last Thursday, and comes after concerns were raised by MPs to a Transport Select Committee hearing the previous day.

Motoring group the RAC says stopped vehicle detection technology must be retrofitted “on all sections of Smart Motorway as a matter of urgency” and Transport Focus calls on Highways England to “set an early date” to install detection on every all lane running section.

In Parliament last Thursday, the Transport Minister Grant Shapps acknowledged that there is concern about Smart Motorways. He has asked his Department “to carry out, at pace, an evidence stocktake to gather the facts quickly and make recommendations”.

He later added: “I watched with great interest the evidence from Highways England in front of the Committee yesterday and noted the comments of the chief executive.

“I will ensure that the Department is making decisions on this, because some of the statistics have been difficult to understand. We know that people are dying on Smart Motorways. We also know that 70 or 80 people a year die on full motorways. Understanding whether Smart Motorways are less safe, the same or safer turns out not to be as straightforward as Members might imagine.

“I want all the facts and I want recommendations that could be put in place to ensure that all our motorways are as safe as they possibly can be. I will get this done in a matter of weeks.”

In response, the RAC’s head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “We welcome a commitment from the Secretary of State to review Smart Motorway safety. We reiterate our calls for the latest stopped vehicle detection technology to be retrofitted on all sections of smart motorway as a matter of urgency and for more SOS areas to be built so drivers are never more than a mile away from one.

“These measures should also be included in all Smart Motorway schemes that are currently being built or planned.”

Independent watchdog Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith added: “While millions of drivers successfully use Smart Motorways there is more to do to improve their understanding of how they work and what you should do if you break down. “Road users tend to trust that ‘the authorities’ would not allow motorways without a hard shoulder if it was unsafe. Highways England must remain vigilant that their trust is not misplaced.”

Stopped vehicle detection systems are currently in place on 18% of all lane running stretches of motorway, including two sections of the M25. Highways England’s chief executive Jim O’Sullivan told the Committee last week: “We know that it works; we have three years of experience on the M25 and the first retrofit of the technology will be on the M3 this year and it is going to be incorporated on all schemes after 2020.”

(Photograph: Highways England)