Organisation: Highways England
Date uploaded: 4th August 2015
Date published/launched: July 2015
Smart motorways use technology to keep traffic moving at busy times. The speed limit is displayed in a solid red ring overhead and along the roadside. When traffic builds up, monitoring sensors activate lower speeds in a bid to smooth congestion and help prevent stop/start traffic.
If a vehicle breaks down a lane can be closed, which is indicated by a red x over that lane. The speed limit will be lowered to slow traffic while Highways England and the emergency services manage the incident.
Highways England says that because the speed limits on smart motorways can change, some drivers don’t realise they are still legal speed limits and are getting caught out.
To counter this, Highways England has launched its ‘Better watch your speed’ campaign for summer 2015, to encourage drivers to stick to the speed limits on England’s smart motorway network.
The campaign delivers the following five messages:
• Watch your speed: you must stick to speed limits displayed in a red ring.
• On time journeys: speed limits vary at busy times to keep the traffic flowing and make journey times more reliable.
• Be safe: millions use motorways every day – think about how the decisions you make affect others
• Don’t risk it: speed limits on smart motorways are enforced by police and if you break the speed limit you will be prosecuted
• Respect our road workers: do your bit to save lives – drive carefully, stick to the stated speed limit and keep road workers safe.
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