Today Nottinghamshire Live is joining bereaved families in calling for smart motorways to be scrapped - after 79 deaths on roads where there is no hard shoulder. Those mourning their loss were hoping for change when a motion calling for an end to existing smart motorways was put forward to Nottinghamshire County Council.
But they were left disappointed - as the motion failed with 34 councillors voting against it. Widow Wendy Steer, who believes smart motorways are "the worst thing that has ever been built", was hoping that Nottinghamshire County Council would become the first council in the country to formally oppose it.
She is the wife of the 79th victim of smart motorways. Her late husband 53-year-old Andrew Steer died in January last year after his van hit a stationary lorry on a stretch of the M1.
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The crash happened near Junction 25 near Nottingham and Ms Steer, 57, now said smart motorways are "dangerous beyond belief". "I think it is the worst thing that has ever been built," she told Nottinghamshire Live.
And for Ms Steer, not a day goes by without missing her late husband. "I am disabled, so my husband was also my carer. I am just lost without him.
"I have got plenty of family - but I feel alone without him. I still think about and cry about it. We had such a fantastic life - he was such a lovely, caring, beautiful person."
The rejection of the motion means a further blow for bereaved families, including Ms Steer who is "absolutely disgusted with the decision [the council] they have made". Ms Steer added: "I just thought that we would get somewhere. I do not understand why they have not voted for it.
"I do not know why they dismissed it. I thought the councillors will be on our side."
Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason was killed on a stretch of the M1 with no hard shoulder in 2019, has echoed Ms Steer's anger. "Why go out of their way to object to it? This was an opportunity to highlight it locally," she told Nottinghamshire Live.
"It is a shame and I am so surprised that so many councillors rejected it. It is disappointing."
It comes after future smart motorways have been removed from government road-building plans. This is "due to financial pressures and lack of confidence felt by drivers", a statement from the UK Department for Transport (DfT) earlier in April stated.
But bereaved families who lost their loved ones on such roads said this is not enough - and are now calling for a meeting with Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper. Ms Mercer added: "The future motorways are not the ones killing us - it is the current ones that are killing us."
A smart motorway is a section of a motorway 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 variable speed limits to control the flow of traffic.
It is estimated however that 79 people in total have been killed on these stretches of the motorway. And Ms Mercer, who is now a full-time campaigner for Smart Motorways Kill, added: "For every person killed in tragic circumstances, it directly affects 100 people.
"That is nearly 800 people that have just been affected by losing someone on these things - families are broken from their work. And that is the number that we just know of."
The 47-year-old said the loss has been haunting her ever since, adding: "I had a massive breakdown at first, and I have continued to have more breakdowns. I have had another breakdown again this year, even nearly four years later. You just do not improve.
"I only dealt with Jason's ashes a few weeks ago," she added. "We have launched them in a capsule into space."
Ms Mercer said her campaign "will only finish when we get the hard shoulder on all motorways". She added: "Jason was absolutely everything to me - and this absolutely broke me."
The same fatal crash made Andreea Murgeanu, the sister of the other victim involved in the collision on the M1, leave the UK and blame herself for her brother's death. Speaking previously to Nottinghamshire Live in her native language from her motherland Romania, she said the tragedy has "haunted" her ever since.
"People say it gets better with time but it does not", she said. Ms Murgeanu said that the tragedy which claimed the life of her 22-year-old brother, Alexandru, as well as Jason on the M1 near J34 on the morning of June 7 has "haunted" her life ever since. "We all have to live with it for the rest of our lives", she added.
The motion brought forward by Cllr Tom Hollis on May 11 aimed to "send a clear message to the Government that we believe that lives are being put in danger". It also proposed resolving to write to the Secretary of State for Transport "making this council's opposition to smart motorways clear".
However, only 29 councillors voted in favour of the motion. Ben Bradley MP, who is the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said he shares concerns about "the nature and safety record on these roads", adding: "Any preventable death or injury is obviously appalling for those affected, and therefore I'm pleased that the Government has already tackled this issue by ending the smart motorways programme, and by committing funding to rectifying issues on existing roads.
"My comments on the motion are simply that there is no need for it, because as I've described the Government has already been very clear in ending this practice, and in that sense what they're asking has already been delivered. It would not be logical, therefore, for me or the council to write to Government and ask them to review an issue they've already acted on.
"We can't support the motion because it's not in any way connected to our council and our remit, and because Government has already made these announcements. We do of course agree with the concerns and sympathise with families, and we're pleased with it being tackled nationally."
The Government and National Highways continue to invest £900 million in further safety improvements on existing smart motorways, and to give motorists advice when using existing smart motorways. While no new stretches of road will be converted into smart motorways, the M56 J6-8 and M6 J21a-26 will be completed given they are already over three quarters constructed.
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."
Nottinghamshire Live plans to write to the Transport Minister to request a meeting on the matter.
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