How do smart motorways work?

The M6 has been named Britain’s most hated motorway for the second successive year.

Angry motorists blasted the route as “terrible” and a “joke” despite recent upgrades to turn the artery into a controversial “smart motorway”.

The M6’s new status is the result of Transport Focus’ annual Strategic Road User Survey.

A poll of 7,000 road users revealed the M6 had the lowest rating in the country with just 66 percent satisfied.

The results are a staggering 16 percent lower than the M5 which was the UK’s most popular motorway.

READ MORE British drivers fury at ‘very stupid’ 70mph speed limit that causes ‘dawdling’

However, the score is still higher than 12 months ago when the M6 scored a woeful 59 percent. More concerning was the route’s appalling safety rating with a whopping 25 percent admitting they didn’t feel safe when using the M6 route.

One driver taking part in the survey commented: “Terrible tarmac conditions in places, matrix signs not up to date, unwarranted smart motorway speed limits.”

According to The Telegraph, another motorist added: “The M6 ‘motorway’ is a joke – much of its length has poorly designed roadworks that trap drivers in endless cone restrictions […] Smart’ sections, now running at 60mph demonstrate what a complete waste of money the ‘Smart motorways’ have been – years of congestion for Zero Gain.”

The M6 is one of the country’s most popular roads with around 200,000 vehicles thought to use it every day.

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The route runs from Rugby to the edge of the Scottish borders but passes many large cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.

Around a third of the 230-mile road is now considered a “smart motorway” with eight separate sections being upgraded.

The new roads work by replacing hard shoulders with an extra traffic lane to help reduce congestion. Cameras then detect a breakdown and close lanes accordingly to prevent accidents.

Campaigners claim there have been at least 79 deaths connected to smart motorways. Six-year-old Dev Naran was killed instantly on the M6 motorway near Birmingham after a lorry smashed into his family car.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus called on officials to do more to improve safety.

Reacting to the findings, he explained: “As the so-called backbone of Britain, the M6 is a vital route which National Highways must continue to focus on delivering safe, smooth journeys.

“We’ll continue to keep pushing National Highways to improve these issues.”

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