Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's public information campaign on smart motorways.

In March 2020, as part of the Smart motorway safety evidence stocktake and action plan, the Transport Secretary committed an additional £5 million to communications campaigns to further increase awareness and understanding of smart motorways.

In March 2021 National Highways launched a new national public information campaign, ‘Go left’, to give drivers clear information about what to do in a breakdown.

Other public information campaigns being delivered by National Highways include urging drivers to adhere to Red X signals, to carry out tyre checks, to discourage tailgating and advise drivers on the use of the emergency (eCall) system in newer cars and vans.

In January 2022, National Highways launched a ‘Driving on Motorways’ hub on its website, providing a central point for all its information on motorway driving, including smart motorways. The hub was launched alongside a multimedia campaign, with content featured reaching over 6 million listeners.