What is a Smart Motorway and How Do You Use it?

When you learn to drive, you need to make sure that you are aware of what everything means on the roads so that you can understand what is around you, drive safely and react to traffic conditions. From the reason why certain vehicles have chapter 8 chevrons like this https://www.pvluk.com/chapter-8-chevrons on them, to the meaning of various road signs, making sure that you have a good knowledge of the Highway Code is essential to help you drive safely.

Smart motorways are a relatively recent addition to roads in the UK and many people feel confused by what they are, what makes them differ from a normal road and how you need to drive safely on them. Some people may not have encountered a smart motorway yet or may even be intentionally avoiding them due to not knowing how they work. If you want to know more about smart motorways, carry on reading…

What are they?

A smart motorway is a section of the motorway that uses a range of different modern methods like CCTV and sensors to monitor the traffic and then respond accordingly to manage it. For example, if there is an area of congestion, the smart motorway systems may monitor this and then reduce the speed limit to help to manage the congestion.

Signs

The way that smart motorways then communicate with drivers is with overhead digital signs at intervals above the road. There are two main categories of these signs – signs that relate to particular lanes and signs that relate to the motorway as a whole and are larger.

The lane signs will display information on the lane itself, the speed limit in that lane and whether the lane is opened or closed. Larger signs will inform you of conditions on the motorway as a whole, such as expected delays or congestion ahead.

In the Event of a Breakdown

The most commonly asked question when it comes to using smart motorways, is what do you do if you break down? There is no hard shoulder on them, so the usual rules don’t apply. If you can get to an emergency refuge area, then do this, and then you can get out of the car and call for assistance. If you cannot get to an emergency refuge area, put your hazards on, stay in your car with the seatbelt on and call 999 immediately. The smart motorway should then close the lane that you are in.