Smart motorways: Drivers stranded daily, inquest hears

Nargis Begum and her husband broke down on a stretch of smart motorway where the hard shoulder had been removed

A traffic officer who attended a fatal crash on the M1 said he saw drivers stranded on smart motorways daily.

Nargis Begum, 62, from Sheffield, died after her car broke down on a stretch of motorway with no hard shoulder near Woodall Services on 9 September 2018.

Julian Havell, with 17 years of experience patrolling roads for National Highways in Yorkshire, gave evidence at an inquest into her death.

He said he once saw seven cars break down in live lanes in one day.

A smart motorway is a stretch of road where technology is used to regulate traffic flow with the aim of easing congestion.

The inquest at Doncaster Coroner's Court heard Mr Havell's patrol went to help when the car Mrs Begum was travelling in was hit by another vehicle after it had stopped in a live lane of the motorway.

He said he believed the emergency refuges on smart motorways were "not close enough together" and there were "not enough of them".

Nargis Begum died after the car she was travelling in with her husband Mohammed Bashir broke down on a smart motorway

Mr Havell said he had once found a driver whose car had a flat tyre "sitting in the live lane of the M1 who had been there in excess of one and a half hours".

Prashant Popat QC, representing National Highways at the inquest, said the gaps between refuges or other places of relative safety in the area, such as junctions and service stations, were all within the distances listed in the relevant guidance.

Previous hearings had been told that Mrs Begum had got out of the Nissan Qashqai car when it broke down in the far left lane.

She was waiting for help when a Mercedes collided with the Nissan, causing it to plough into her.

The inquest into her death continues.