Nearly 70 Percent of UK Drivers Want All Smart Motorways Axed, Poll Finds

Traffic passes an Emergency Refuge Area on a smart motorway section in the UK on Jan. 19, 2021. Martin Rickett/PA

Nearly 7 in 10 drivers want the hard shoulder reinstated on so-called smart motorways, new research suggests.

Around 10 percent of England’s motorway network is made up of smart motorways, which were developed to increase capacity without requiring more traffic lanes.