Smart motorway drama as Reading near-miss caught on camera

Lee Browne sent dash cam footage of him driving between junction 12 for Theale and junction 11 for Reading and having to swerve out of the way after a broken-down vehicle was in the left-hand lane.

He also responded succinctly to the question of whether he felt safe on the smart motorway, with a simple response of ‘No.’

Mr Browne is not alone, with the vast majority of comments across our Berkshire sites agreeing.

READ MORE: M4 smart motorway roll out could be delayed

The roll-out of new smart motorways has been paused for five years after concerns over lack of safety data from MPs.

While the rollout is paused, the Government will ensure current smart motorways without a permanent hard shoulder are equipped with resources to make them as safe as possible.

This will include investing £390 million to install more than 150 additional Emergency Areas so drivers have more places to stop if they get into difficulty.

This will represent around a 50 per cent increase in places to stop by 2025, giving drivers added reassurance.