Smart motorway emergency refuge areas to be painted orange for better visibility

Emergency refuge areas are set to get a fresh lick of paint to make them more visible to drivers.

The specially designed laybys are on smart motorways where the hard shoulder is made available to traffic to ease congestion. The government wants to improve awareness of smart motorway driving and hopes the orange paint will not only make it clearer what the bays are for, but also discourage people from using them in non-emergency situations.

The first repainted emergency refuge area went live last Friday on the M3 near Camberley in Surrey and is part of an ongoing test that will conclude in the autumn.

Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England chief executive, said: “We recognise the public concern about smart motorways and we also believe that changes such as these will help drivers have confidence when using them and be clear about where they can stop in an emergency.

“That is why we are trialling these highly visible new-style emergency areas.

“This is just one of the ways we are helping drivers to understand smart motorways and their benefits. I hope it helps drivers feel more confident about using a smart motorway.”

Smart motorways are designed to ease congestion by using variable speed limits, extra lanes and intelligent updates to give drivers information about the road ahead.

Highways England a a government-owned company – says that they are “successfully adding extra capacity, improving journey times and are just as safe as conventional motorways”.