Nick Ferrari stunned as caller shares 'traumatising' smart motorway breakdown experience

Caller Aisha from Hitchin told LBC presenter Nick Ferrari about her “traumatising” experience of breaking down on a smart motorway, saying she could not get out because there were cars “flying up behind and narrowly missing” her. MPs have warned that the introduction of “all-lane” smart motorways should be halted until their safety can be guaranteed.

Aisha said: “I was just calling because I had broken down on a smart motorway last week and was absolutely terrified.

“No hard shoulder leaves you just completely at the mercy of other drivers being vigilant.

Nick Ferrari said: “What happened to your car?”

Aisha explained: “A brand new Range Rover that had a safety recall that the garage just kept delaying taking back into repair but had assured me that morning it was safe to drive until it suddenly just stopped in the fast lane.”

READ MORE: Macron warned fishing threat gamble to backfire on France ‘Cause them lot of harm’  

She went on: “I had absolutely no control.

“The police had to come. They couldn’t even put the handbrake on the car. So dead was the car.

“But it was horrifying to try to get over to what we would consider the slow lane.

“And you know, the police were on the phone saying what can you exit the vehicle?”

She continued: “No, I can’t- I can’t get out because there are people flying up behind me and narrowly missing me. 

“I definitely can’t open the driver’s side and it was just traumatising.”

Nick Ferrari asked: “Are you on what I would call the old hard shoulder or were you trapped on the outside lane? Which lane are you in?

The caller said: “The outside lane.”

DON’T MISS:

The host said: “Oh my god. Oh, god.” 

Aisha continued: “Just horrifying to also just look around and go, even if this car can move, there is nowhere of safety for me to get to.

The host asked: “How long were you trapped there?” 

The caller said: “I called 999. Their response is pretty quick to be fair. I mean, I was in fantasy time because I was just terrified.

“You know, I imagine they were there pretty quick. I would say they were there you know within a few minutes and they had to close off the motorway and everything else.”

She continued: “But just this thought that I am completely now utterly reliant on other drivers being aware and focused and driving within the speed limit. 

“And there is no safety net-there is there is no way for me to go. 

The host said: “Thank God you got off safely. Tell me it’s ok now.”

The caller answered: “I’ve told them to take their car back. It’s less than a year old and I’ve had nothing but grief.”

Some MPs are now calling for the halting of the introduction of “all-lane” smart motorways as critics say this has contributed to deaths on the roads. 

The schemes use the hard shoulder as a permanent live traffic lane to increase capacity.

source: express.co.uk