Employee refusing to drive on smart motorways
What’s a smart motorway?
Smart motorways refer to sections of road that use intelligent traffic management systems to reduce congestion and close lanes when there is an accident. Rather than have a dedicated hard shoulder, many have bays placed at intervals.
There are now 200+ miles of smart motorways in the UK, e.g. on the M1, M4, M6, M20 and M25. Another 200+ miles are under construction.
Danger area
Research published by the AA in February 2020 found that only 9% of motorists feel relaxed or safe using smart motorways and there are serious concerns over their safety.
For example, in the last five years 38 fatalities have occurred on smart motorways. Consequently, the AA has banned its crews from attending breakdowns on smart motorways unless the vehicle has already been moved to a safe refuge. The government has also launched a review and put the roll-out of smart motorways on hold.
Your legal duties
As a result of the safety concerns, you might find that you have staff who refuse to drive on them for work-related journeys, particularly at peak times.
Do you have to accept the employee’s position? Where you employ staff who drive as part of their job, you’ll need to identify, assess and manage driving risks in the same way that you would for any other work activity. This is your legal responsibility.
Employee concerns
Look at the type of journeys made by employees to determine if there are specific hazards on a certain road. If so, you’ll need to decide how to avoid or manage them (see The next step ).
In our view, a refusal to drive on smart motorway routes at the current time is likely to be justified. You can’t insist that the employee uses them (doing so could put them at risk in the event of a breakdown or accident), so you will have to find and agree an alternative solution.
Tip 1. This could include new travelling times, e.g. during off peak hours. It may also mean using other routes which avoid smart motorways. However, do make it clear that the situation will be reviewed if some or all smart motorways are abolished.
Tip 2. Where possible, you could implement alternatives to face-to-face meetings, e.g. Skype. Apart from saving you money on fuel, it will boost employee productivity as far less time will be spent on the road.
What about commuting?
The legal position will be different regarding the employee’s normal commute to work, i.e. travel between their home and usual place of work. As this isn’t generally classed as working time, any avoidance of smart motorways will need to be made in their own time.
For advice on how to drive on a smart motorway, visit http://tipsandadvice-personnel.co.uk/download (PS 22.05.05).
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