Smart motorways are so dangerous that the AA won’t let its breakdown crews stop on them
SMART motorways are so dangerous that AA breakdown crews are instructed to not stop in them to help stranded drivers.
The shocking revelation comes after nine people died on motorways which use the controversial system last year.
A former AA patrolman of the year confirmed the company's policy in a BBC documentary which is set to air tonight.
Instead, staff must head to a safe location and wait for the driver's car to be moved there by Highways England.
Tony Rich, a former AA patrolman of the year, said: "'We'll contact the customer to say 'we can't stop where you are'.
"We will contact Highways England, go to a safe area and wait for the vehicle to be delivered."
In some cases, drivers may have to wait up to 17 minutes before their car can be moved as they may be out of sight of cameras which are supposed to monitor for stranded cars.
And in other situations, this technology can stop when working in moderate to heavy traffic.
Smart motorways use technology as a way of reducing congestion and ease the flow of traffic.
The methods include using the hard shoulder as an active traffic lane.
This means drivers who break down on the high-speed roads could be forced to sit in lanes exposed to live traffic, where other drivers are unaware the hard shoulder has been closed due to a stationary vehicle.
Edmund King, AA president says; "Being stuck in a live lane is in incredibly dangerous. The official advice is keep your seat belt and hazard lights on and dial 999.
"It is not safe for breakdown organisations to recover vehicles unless the lane is closed and has a physical presence sat behind the casualty vehicle.
"This is either the Police with blue flashing lights or Highways England Traffic Officers with red flashing lights.
"This highlights the severity of breaking down in a live lane and further emphasises our calls for double the number of Emergency Refuge Areas.
"Providing drivers with more places of relative safety would reduce the risk of vehicles being stuck in a lane of fast moving traffic."
Recent figures from Highways England revealed 19,316 vehicles stopped in a live lane over the past two years, a rate of 26 drivers a day.
The shocking figures comes after four people were killed on a stretch of the M1 in just ten months.
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All of the deadly crashes happened after motorists failed to reach a safe lay-by area known as an Emergency Refuge Area, which are currently 1.5 miles apart.
The Department of Transport is currently reviewing smart motorways, with the report to be released in the coming weeks.
You can watch the BBC Inside Out North West on BBC One at 7.30pm.