Woman whose husband was killed by a Hull man calls for a rethink on smart motorways

It comes as the Government pauses the smart motorway scheme

Motorway
Author: Andy MarshPublished 12th Jan 2022

A woman whose husband was killed by a Hull man is calling for the hard shoulder to fully re-introduced 'as soon as possible'.

Claire Mercer's been reacting to the Government's decision to pause the rollout of smart motorways going forwards.

The Department for Transport says it's taking a break until there's more data about crashes on the roads - which allow live traffic to use the hard shoulder.

Her husband Jason was killed on a section of the M1 by 40 year old Prezemyslaw Zbigniew Szuba from Hull in 2020:

Claire says "the hard shoulder was just there, it didn't need any back up, it didn't need any technology."

"It was a physical tangible lane that was there and if you had a problem you had a much higher chance of getting to it than you do a tiny parking space every 2 miles".

"The hard shoulder has always been a better option".

"Just close the first lane now - flick the switch".

"Don't wait until more people are killed or injured".

"Jason's not buried yet - I've got his ashes".

"When we win the campaign I'm going to fire them into space".

"I think that would be a good way to mark his life and say Jason made a difference".