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As a driver making your living from courier work, you will be very aware of the perpetual increase in traffic on our roads. Thankfully however, the Department for Transport is making every effort to reduce the impact of heavy traffic, especially on our motorways, something that has got to be good news for every road user, but particularly for those for whom the road means business. One of the more recent initiatives is the Smart Motorway. You may have heard of Smart Motorways under their former designation of Active Traffic Management, Managed Motorways or Controlled Motorways. No matter what you call these roads, they have been put in place to relieve congestion and alleviate heavy traffic issues, something that makes courier work more profitable and less trying on the nerves. Take note of where these motorways are and you can plan your day-to-day journeys more effectively. What Are Smart Motorways? In essence, these smart motorways are sections of motorway that have been altered in an attempt to combat traffic congestion. High tech systems and strategies have been put in place to help control the flow of the traffic. Cameras and traffic loops provide the traffic volume date, and when that traffic becomes too heavy, Variable Speed Limits, followed by Ramp Metering are implemented. Hard Shoulder Use You may find yourself directed to use the hard shoulder on certain stretches of some roads. Lights and signs are in place to direct traffic to use the hard shoulder when it is necessary. Sometimes a hard shoulder is used temporarily and this is known as a ‘Dynamic Hard Shoulder’, but since 2013 the ‘All Lanes Running’ approach has been used more often. This necessitates that when a hard shoulder is used, it is used permanently to avoid any confusion about whether the hard shoulder is open or not. The loss of the hard shoulder obviously has its implications, but emergency lay-bys aim to alleviate these and the overall effect is to keep traffic moving, making travelling and working on the roads for couriers much easier. Overhead Signs You may have noticed in recent years, the increase in overhead signs on motorways as well as the message displays warning of delays and hazards. These make all courier work a much easier prospect, as routes can be changed and sections of road avoided as necessary. On smart motorways the installation of these messages, as well as Variable Speed Limits are seen more frequently. Concerns As a regular driver, you may see the potential pitfalls of such an initiative, the main one being that the use of the hard shoulder limits pull off areas for vehicles in trouble. Sceptics may also see the scheme as a short term one and one that is not sufficient to accommodate the inevitable traffic increase in the future. Road widening may be inevitable in the long run. But, on the whole, the proactive Smart Motorway scheme is a good one and one that definitely makes life easier for anyone using the road, but particularly for people relying on road transport for business from delivery and courier work to freight transport. Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for same day courier work in the express freight exchange industry. Over 4,000 transport exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading jobs and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.
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