Fears for officer and public safety over M1 four lane plan

FOUR lane running is to be given the go-ahead on the M1 in South Yorkshire – despite fears that the plan could endanger officers’ and public safety.

Plans to turn the hard shoulder of the M1 in South Yorkshire into an extra lane between junctions 32 and 35a have been criticised by Jim Lucas, secretary of South Yorkshire Police Federation (pictured). The Highways Agency wants some sections to have four lanes of running traffic 24 hours a day.

Mr Lucas said: “If we don’t have a hard shoulder then once this 24-hours-a-day all-lane running comes in, what is going to happen to those people who are unfortunate enough to have a break down? They are going to be stuck in a live lane.”

Under the plans, cameras will monitor the motorway so that help can be sent out to people who become stranded, Mr Lucas said.

But he added: “That still leaves that car in a position where there could be a serious threat to life. It would be interesting to know what they [the Highways Agency] are going to tell the members of the public that do break down and phone in.

“What is the advice they are going to give them? What are they going to be told to do? Will they be told to get out of the car? Stay in the car? I don’t know. I have got concerns about how the public are going to view this and how the officers are that are going to be dealing with this.”

He warned that blue light services will also find it harder to get to incidents without a hard shoulder.

“The police, the Ambulance Service, the Fire Service are all going to find it a struggle to get to incidents when all four lanes are crammed. There are some big issues to be considered.”

Mr Lucas added: “I don’t like to use these words lightly but I have got a feeling that someone from the Highways Agency will be standing in front of a coroner and explaining why they [went ahead with the plans] when all these dangers were pointed out to them.”

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: “The Highways Agency is committed to improving safety on its network, and smart motorways are helping to do just this.

“The M1 smart motorway schemes in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire are central to the government’s long term economic plan and part of £24bn of investment in the road network by 2021. The M1 schemes will boost capacity by a third and improve journey times up to 10%.

“The Highways Agency and emergency services have agreed procedures for access to incidents on all parts of the motorway and trunk road network.

“For those drivers who have stop in a live lane because they are not close to an emergency refuge area, we have comprehensive CCTV coverage and the ability to reduce the speed limit of the motorway and close lanes to protect any stranded vehicle, or facilitate access for recovery vehicles.

“Drivers will see an improvement in their journeys when the M1 schemes begin operation from autumn 2015, enjoying safer and more reliable journeys.”