National Highways is missing its own minimum safety targets for detecting stranded vehicles on all-lane running (ALR) smart motorways, states a new report from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). Rates for Stationary Vehicle Detection (SVD), based on radar technology, in National Highways’ five regions with ALR smart motorways is between 59.6% and 79.6%, below its 80% target.

Across all National Highways’ regions with ALR smart motorways, false detection rates are substantially above the required maximum, ORR found. The company’s specification states that false alerts should be no higher than 15% of all alerts, but they ranged 63.8% to 83.5% across the regions. “This creates extra workload for operators; risks reducing operators’ and drivers’ confidence in the system (false alerts automatically trigger ‘Report of Obstruction’ messages on variable message signs ahead of alert locations); and, ultimately, could lead to real alerts being missed,” said the ORR.