Widow of man who died on smart motorway leads coffin protest in London

Claire and Jason Mercer Credit: PA/ITV Calendar

The widow of a man who died on a smart motorway near Sheffield has led a dramatic protest carrying coffins across London's Westminster Bridge to represent deaths on smart motorways.

Around 50 demonstrators marched to Parliament Square on Monday to demand a ban on all-lane running (ALR) motorways, which can convert the hard shoulder into a live traffic lane.

38 coffins have been carried across London to the Department for Transport's head office Credit: ITV Calendar

Claire Mercer's husband Jason was killed on the M1 in 2019 after being hit by a lorry. He had had been involved in a minor collision and had stopped along with the other vehicle. The motorway had no hard shoulder - but a refuge lane further up the road.

Jason Mercer was killed on a s'mart motorway' in 2019 Credit: PA

Mrs Mercer said the protest aimed to "force home the message that we're just being ignored by the Government".

She said: "They keep doing review after review after review. In the meantime, people are still dying.

50 protesters marched with coffins across London Credit: ITV Calendar

"There's a really strong feeling against these. We need to embarrass the Government into actually doing something.

"We don't need a raft of changes. We just need the hard shoulder back in every single instance."

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MP for Rotherham, Labour's Sarah Champion said the hard shoulder must be reinstated.

She added: "The rollout of stop motorways must be stopped right now."

The Government has since announced that 'dymnamic' schemes - where the hard shoulder is opened for traffic at busy times - will be permanently replaced with 'all-lane-running' motorways by March 2025 - when there will be no hard shoulder at any time.

Claire - who would have celebrated her 12th wedding anniversary on Sunday, said she hoped the sight of the coffins would embarrass the Government into doing something.

Claire Mercer:"I've lost everything I can lose" Credit: PA

In a statement the Department for Transport said: "Every death on our roads is a tragedy and our thoughts remain with anyone who has lost a loved one.

"While data shows that fatalities are less likely on smart motorways than on conventional ones, we know some drivers can feel less safe on them."

It added that any new "all lane running motorway" would be required to have additional safety measures in place, such as technology to detect stopped cars.

The Commons Transport Select Committee is due to publish a report on Tuesday on the rollout and safety of smart motorways.