OUR emergency services and vehicle breakdown crews must be risking their lives when trying to help drivers who have broken down in the live lane on so-called “smart” motorways.

Highways England, a Government-owned company, is dreaming if it believes that a vehicle breakdown is going to happen timely enough to land on one those very few titchy “refuge” areas.

The Government should not only stop any further roll-out of such hard shoulder-free stretches but should also scrap those already in existence.

Thirty eight travellers have already been killed in five years on these “dice-with-death” motorways.

How many more people must die before ministers come to their senses?

Ron Kirby

Dorchester