M1 car-sharing lane scrapped
* Research says it is too dangerous * Fears that extra lane could lead to accidents * Government sticks by long-term policy, though...
Just one week after the Government announced plans to introduce more car-sharing lanes, a scheme on the M1 has had to be scrapped for being too dangerous.
The Government plans to use car-sharing lanes as a key part of its strategy for easing congestion in the future.
However, a proposed outside lane between junctions seven and 10 of the M1 has been scrapped after a feasibility study said it could lead to an increase in accidents.
The study warned that there could be a danger of vehicles in the conventional outside lane undertaking others in the car-sharing lane, and from police stopping non-compliant vehicles and requiring them to cut across faster traffic.
The study also said that there are no reliable camera systems for checking the number of occupants in vehicles, as much-vaunted blood-detecting cameras that can count the number of people in a car are not installed yet.
A Department for Transport spokesman said the findings didn't change the Government's long-term policy, however.
'Car-sharing lanes remain an important part of our congestion-tackling toolkit and we will continue to consider them for use across the network,' he said.
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