A smart motorway is a section of a motorway in the United Kingdom that uses traffic management methods to increase capacity and reduce congestion in particularly busy areas. These methods include using the hard shoulder as a running lane and using variable speed limits to control the flow of traffic. Smart motorways were developed to manage traffic in a way that minimizes environmental impact, cost, and time to construct by avoiding the need to build additional lanes. There are three different types of smart motorways in the UK: all-lane running, dynamic hard shoulder, and controlled motorway.
Despite their benefits, smart motorways have garnered intense criticism from politicians, police representatives, and motoring organizations, particularly from 2020 onwards, after a surge in near-miss incidents and dozens of fatalities were revealed. As of April 2023, no new smart motorways will be built. However, many miles of smart motorway are already in place across the UK, so its vital for drivers and riders to understand how to use them.
