Smart motorways: Coroner urges National Highways to improve safety

A senior coroner has urged highways bosses to take action to improve smart motorway safety.

It comes after Nargis Begum, 62, from Sheffield, died after getting out of her car when it broke down on a stretch of the M1 with no hard shoulder.

Nicola Mundy has written to National Highways to express concern that 153 vehicles passed their car without reporting the incident.

National Highways said it had an ongoing road safety campaign in place.

An inquest into Mrs Begum's death at Doncaster Coroner's Court in September heard the mother-of-five had got out of a Nissan Qashqai, which was being driven by her husband, after it broke down in a live lane of the M1 near Woodhall Services in September 2018.

A Mercedes collided with the stationary car, causing it to plough into her.

The inquest heard the stricken car went undetected for 16 minutes and 21 seconds before the crash, despite being passed by 153 drivers.

One witness said he did not report the stationary Nissan because he believed it would be picked up by the cameras.

National Highways employees told the coroner this was not practicable, prompting the coroner to ask if more could be done to educate the public.

In a report sent to National Highways deaths Ms Mundy said there was a "lack of public understanding" about the need to report incidents and warned of "a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken".

In response, National Highways' Chief Executive Nick Harris said: "Mrs Begum's death was a tragedy and our sympathies remain with her family and friends.

"We have an ongoing programme of road safety campaign activity, intended to provide important guidance to drivers to make journeys safer, easier and more reliable.

"I have also set work in train to explore extra actions we and partners might take to further increase awareness among the public of what they can do if they spot someone in difficulty on any road."

Mrs Begum's daughter, Saima Aktar, 40, said the number of people who drove past the Nissan without reporting it was "truly staggering" but said "in no way do we blame them".

"What it highlights is the shocking nature in which motorists have been allowed to drive on these roads for years without proper safety awareness and being made aware of how they operate and what they need to do in case of an emergency," she said.

"While there may be cameras on these roads, what happened to mum shows people can't rely on these."

National Highways said it would formally respond to the coroner's report by the deadline of 11 November.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].