AA president's warning over M4 hard shoulder closures

Edmund King fears there will be more fatal crashes like Prior's Court tragedy

THE president of the AA fears there will be more fatal crashes like the one that killed three members of staff at Prior’s Court school unless safety improvements are made to the M4.

The school minibus was hit by a lorry when it suddenly lost power between Junctions 14 for Hungerford and 13 for Chieveley in October last year.

An inquest heard last week that the hard shoulder on that section of the road was closed at the time so Highways England could carry out barrier repairs, meaning the vehicle was unable to pull over.

Work is currently under way to convert the M4 between Junction 12 at Theale and London into a smart motorway – a scheme which involves removing the hard shoulder altogether.

AA president Edmund King told the Newbury Weekly News that doing so will lead to more people’s lives being lost.

He said: “The M4 is going to be a sub-standard road where safety is going to be compromised.

“While the section of the M4 where the Prior’s Court crash took place is not going to become a smart motorway, the principle is exactly the same.

“Frankly, the minibus had nowhere to go. In this absolutely tragic case, the lorry driver did not have time to stop. It is absolutely terrifying.

“Unfortunately that kind of incident will be repeated unless improvements are made.”

Highways England claims that converting the hard shoulder into a running lane will help improve capacity on the road and says it is more cost effective than widening it.

To mitigate the loss of the hard shoulder, it will install ‘emergency refuge areas’ every mile-and-a-half.

However, Mr King said: “Our concern is, if you remove the hard shoulder, you need more laybys or refuge areas to pull into.”

Meanwhile senior coroner for Berkshire Heidi Connor has requested a review into hard shoulder closures following the Prior’s Court deaths.

Mrs Connor said at the inquest: “We have heard this barrier was only installed the day before this incident and if the hard shoulder had been available it may have offered the minibus an opportunity to move out of harm’s way.”