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There have been various motoring organisations who have questioned the safety of these smart motorways and the government have indicated that the extra information given on overhead signs on smart motorways means that they are in fact safer than those which they replace.
What has not been given too much publicity is that the speed cameras on smart motorways are switched on all the time and that these cameras do not just operate to enforce speed limits below 70 miles an hour they also operate to enforce speed limits of 70 miles and over, even when there are no messages on the overhead gantry. You can therefore be clocked at a speed of over 70 miles an hour at any time of the day or night and regardless of whether there is an accident or road works.
On a traditional motorway in the UK, cameras are only used when there are road works or other ongoing difficulties and the norm is that there is no fixed camera enforcement of the 70 mph limit only enforcement of those speeds which are visually shown as a restriction. However, motorways like all other roads are subject to the periodic enforcement by police with either vehicle cameras or handheld cameras.
On an ordinary motorway these restrictions are usually shown on a physical board or series of boards or on some motorways on an overhead gantry. And on those ordinary motorways there is no camera enforcement of the 70 mile an hour limit. The same is not true on smart motorways where the cameras are always in operation.
