Driving on roads where there is no hard shoulder makes motorists "feel anxious", driving experts said. Adam Majstrow, a Nottingham driving instructor, is among the ones calling for a hard shoulder to be re-introduced on all motorways - saying he nearly crashed into a lorry as he was heading to the East Midlands Airport.
"Smart motorways are not smart", he added. "I was driving to East Midlands Airport and I nearly crashed the lorry that broke down on the first lane.
"A hard shoulder should be available in those cases. Drivers stay away from the left lane because they think it is more dangerous. Normally, you should feel safer on the first lane."
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A smart motorway is a section of a motorway that uses traffic management methods aiming to increase capacity and reduce congestion. These methods include using the hard shoulder as a running lane and using variable speed limits to control the flow of traffic.
But Mr Majstrow is among those who belie every motorway should have a hard shoulder, adding: "The M1 is the oldest motorway in England - it always had a hard shoulder.
"It is quite dangerous now. In my personal opinion, every single motorway should have a hard shoulder.
"You cannot protect from breakdowns. And if there is no hard shoulder, you cannot protect at all."
Dean Watson, owner of a haulage company in Leicester, travels on motorways every day. "Driving a car on a smart motorway is bad enough - in a big truck is dangerous.
"I think having no hard shoulder on smart motorways contributes quite a lot to crashes and road accidents. I just do not think they are safe."
Mr Watson, who owns Brysons Haulage Ltd, added: "If a lorry breaks down on a smart motorway, the police have to close down the lane behind. So it actually delays the traffic."
Paul Trollope, who owns P & J Auto Transportation, responds to recoveries on the M1 and M6. "You take away the hard shoulder, people will pull off in dangerous places", he added.
"There have been people who were killed on the M1 and it would have never happened if there was not a smart motorway. Lorries break down on the first lane - which is a running lane so it becomes a hazard.
"It is an accident waiting to happen. I cannot understand how someone could possibly say it is not wrong.
"I am on the road every day. Every day there is someone breaking down."
He added: "I have gone as far as Glasgow and smart motorways are the worst I have ever seen. You would be tearing your hair out if you break down on a smart motorway with your family."
Ian Taylor, a director from the Alliance of British Drivers, said driving on smart motorways makes "other people feel anxious". He believes there should be an "equivalent of a hard shoulder" on every motorway.
Mr Taylor added: "Smart motorways increase capacity when traffic is going well. But when it is not going well, it is actually making it worse."
"On the balance of things - it is risky. Not having a hard shoulder should be only applied in short periods of times and exceptional circumstances.
"We agree with the government on stopping the construction of new smart motorways. They are not a very smart move."
Last week, Nottinghamshire Live has launched a campaign calling for an end to all smart motorways. It comes after the government has stopped the construction of new smart motorways.
We have also written to Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper, asking him to meet some of the bereaved families who lost loved ones on smart motorways.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “Drivers deserve to have confidence in the roads they use and, recognising public concerns, the Government has cancelled plans for all new smart motorway schemes. Working with National Highways, we continue to invest £900 million in further safety improvements on existing smart motorways.”
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