A sat nav blunder by a moped rider highlights the importance of hard shoulders and how he would have been in serious danger on a ‘smart’ motorway.
The unidentified rider was spotted on the southbound carriageway of the M5 motorway, near junction 1 West Bromwich Interchange, at 3.43pm on the 20th July 2024.
Road safety experts have said the rider was “fortunate this wasn’t a ‘smart’ motorway without a hard shoulder, and this should act as a reminder to all riders and drivers not to over-rely on sat navs and use common sense”.
His moped, a 108cc grey Honda is not permitted on the motorway by law as it isn’t fast enough and won’t be able to keep up with the flow of traffic – 125cc is the minimum engine size permitted.
Secondly, its prohibited to ride on the motorway with L plates, you must have a full motorbike license, you cannot ride on the motorway with a CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) license alone.
Neither West Midlands Police or Highways England were aware of the incident, so it appears the rider left the motorway safety and avoided penalty points a hefty fine of up to £1,000.
Edmund King, AA president; said: “Lower powered mopeds are prohibited from motorways for good reason – often they are not fast enough to keep up with the flow of traffic and can be at risk amidst HGVs.
“The rider may have made a genuine mistake and in the circumstances, they probably took the safest course of action by sticking to the hard shoulder and trying to exit as soon as possible.
“It was perhaps fortunate this wasn’t a ‘smart’ motorway without a hard shoulder.
“This acts as a reminder to all riders and drivers not to over-rely on sat navs and to use common road sense and observation to only ride or drive where they are meant to.”
A campaign by the Automobile Association resulted in a government announcement last year stating that no more ‘smart’ motorways without hard shoulders would be built.
Edmund King, AA President said: “I have waited a long time for politicians to listen and at last let’s hope that this decision marks the end of the deadly ‘smart’ motorways.”
