Terrified National Highways staff have accused bosses of ‘recklessly and negligently’ rolling out flawed technology that is putting lives at risk, the Daily Mail can reveal.
In a scathing email to hundreds of staff, an operator warned it is ‘only a matter of time until someone is seriously hurt or killed as a direct result’ of the chaotic system.
National Highways introduced Charm, a multimillion-pound program, in several of its regional control centre.
But the operator warned the technology is so riddled with problems that it is like ‘being forced to do our job blindfolded with both arms tied behind our back’.
In the blistering email, seen by the Mail, he complained of ‘unusable CCTV’ cameras. He claimed they are slow to react when operators try and find out what is going on.
Terrified National Highways staff have accused bosses of ‘recklessly and negligently’ rolling out flawed technology that is putting lives at risk, the Daily Mail can reveal. A couple (pictured above) revealed that their grandchild is still traumatized by the accident on the smart motorway’s most deadly stretch.
In another accident, a former male model (pictured) who suffered devastating injuries when his motorbike lost power on a smart motorway wants the ‘murderous’ roads to be axed. Jack Gallowtree needed emergency surgery to repair his leg. He was told that if his body didn’t accept a skin graft, it would be amputated.
In a scathing email to hundreds of staff, an operator warned it is ‘only a matter of time until someone is seriously hurt or killed as a direct result’ of the chaotic system. In the blistering email, seen by the Mail, he complained of ‘unusable CCTV’ cameras.
He also criticised the Dynac system – used to close lanes, set speed limits and warn motorists of breakdowns – for being ‘painfully slow’, further delaying measures to protect drivers.
In the email, titled ‘Something needs to be done’, sent to all staff and managers in his West Midlands region, he wrote: ‘Over the years we have complained and complained about the poor state of technology and yet nothing gets done.
‘There needs to be dramatic change in the way Highways manages its technology instead of the passive “let’s wait until it sets on fire or someone dies” approach we adopt now.’
He added he has ‘never seen [staff] morale as low or stress levels as high’. The operator watches a section of the M6 near Birmingham that is smart motorway. There, Dev Naran, eight years old, was killed when he ran as a live lane and suffered a hard shoulder.
A Mail undercover investigation revealed a series of failures in the heart of the road agency responsible for keeping the public safe. During an audit that took place on September 17, we discovered that one in ten cameras had been damaged, mist-up, or facing the wrong direction.
Faulty, old computer hardware was used and software was down many times during the six weeks that an undercover journalist spent at one of six central control centres. Boris Johnson ordered a ‘thorough’ investigation into the Mail’s revelations but the Department for Transport has refused to share the initial findings.
There were 53 deaths on smart motorways in the four years to 2019 – at least 18 blamed to some degree on the roads.
Last night, MPs and relatives of victims killed on the ‘death-trap’ roads branded the revelations ‘stomach churning’ and called for the immediate reinstatement of the hard shoulder.
Claire Mercer, who founded campaign group Smart Motorways Kill after her husband Jason, 44, died on a section of the M1 with no hard shoulder, accused National Highways of refusing to ‘put hands up and admit they’ve made a multi-billion pound mistake with taxpayers’ money and taxpayers’ lives’.
Labour transport spokesman Jim McMahon said: ‘Ministers must listen to the alarms being repeatedly sounded by insiders and step in before more families are devastated as a result of their inaction.’
The M3 smart motorway in Surrey is near Camberley. The motorways do not have a hard shoulder in an emergency, and they use technology to close off lanes.
Within weeks, the Commons transport committee will release a report on smart motorways. National Highways has been working on Charm – the Common Highways Agency Rijkswaterstaat Model – with the Dutch road authority for about a decade.
It is designed to aid control room operators, who can make decisions based upon what they can see on the camera to get drivers to safety.
National Highways boss Nick Harris said: ‘We are determined to do all we can to help drivers feel safe and be safer on all our roads which is why we have invested in modern traffic management technology to replace a system that was coming to the end of its natural lifespan…
‘We care deeply about the welfare of our staff and are working urgently to find solutions to each of the issues raised.’
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Road safety is our top priority and we take these reports very seriously. We expect National Highways to take appropriate actions where there are issues to address.’
Kapsch TrafficCom in Austria, which produces Dynac, said that it does not comment about client projects due confidentiality.
“Our grandson is still traumatised from crash”
A couple has revealed that their grandchild is still traumatized after their car crashed on the most dangerous stretch of smart motorway.
Peter and Marilyn Foyle and their grandchildren Harry and Georgina, now 14 and 15, were stranded for 90 minutes next to high-speed traffic after the car’s brakes failed on the M25.
To stop the car, Mr Foyle had his car crash into a truck’s back. He said Harry was ‘deeply affected’ by the crash two years ago and is still ‘traumatised’ and ‘twitchy’. Following the horror, Mr Foyle demanded the immediate reinstatement the hard shoulder.
The architectural designer, 72, was driving his family to the Norfolk Broads for a holiday when their Chrysler Cruiser’s brakes failed. ‘I was panicking, thinking what the hell can I do here, there’s no time to think about it,’ he said.
Mr Foyle turned on his hazard light and moved across to the inside lane, which was previously the hard shoulder, before hitting it with the truck.
The vehicles could not be moved out of the live lanes because there was no emergency bay or hard shoulder nearby. The family waited 90 minutes behind the barrier until National Highways arrived.
‘We saw countless cars swerving to avoid the collision, there were lots of near misses,’ Mr Foyle said. Retired childminder Mrs Foyle, 68, added: ‘I call them dumb motorways. We want them scrapped.’
Peter and Marilyn Foyle and their grandchildren Harry and Georgina, now 14 and 15, were stranded for 90 minutes next to high-speed traffic after the car’s brakes failed (Pictured) on the M25
‘M25 nightmare caused my leg to be a mess’
A former male model who suffered devastating injuries when his motorbike lost power on a smart motorway wants the ‘murderous’ roads to be axed.
Jack Gallowtree required emergency surgery to repair his leg. It was determined that his body would reject a skin graft from the arm.
33-year-old tattoo artist now uses a walking stick, can’t bend his knees and has traumatic flashbacks from the accident. His motorbike suddenly lost its power while he was on the M6 in April.
He attempted to cross the motorway, but the hard shoulder was now a live lane with several lorries.
The tattooist tried cutting in front of HGVs to reach the side of a carriageway. However, as he approached the side at 60 mph, one of his wheels veered off the asphalt and he was hurled past a barrier. His leg bent wrongly, tearing off large chunks of flesh and shattering the knee cap.
Mr Gallowtree, from Wolverhampton, said if he had been flung to the right he would have been ‘flattened’ by the lorries.
He claims that if he had a hard shoulder, it would have made it possible for him to stop safely.
Jack Gallowtree (Pictured) had to have emergency surgery to rebuild his leg and was told it would be amputated if his body rejected a skin graft from his arm