One in ten safety cameras on smart motorways are broken or facing the wrong way, an undercover investigation has claimed.
It comes shortly after National Highways announced they will roll out 300 miles of smart motorway by 2025.
"Smart" motorways use active traffic management to reduce congestion and increase the amount of traffic that can pass through areas which are known to be busy.
But an undercover investigation by the Daily Mail claims to have uncovered safety failures which put countless motorists at risk.
Points of particular danger were found where hard shouldrs convert to a live lane.
More than one in ten cameras at this section were broken, misted up or facing the opposite direction, the Mail claims in their investigation, elements of which have been disputed by Highways England.
The reporter worked in a control room for six weeks, where he says he overheard a worker saying: ‘We’ve got no signals, you’re all going to die. Whichever God you believe in, start praying now.’
On September 17, on one of the busiest stretches of the M25, almost half of the cameras did not work, the Mail claims.
Motorists were stranded in fast-moving traffic because staff in the control room were unable to check broken-down vehicle reports.
Since the report was made public, the Department for Transport has ordered an inquiry into the failures.
Fifty three people have died on smart motorways since 2013 and at least eighteen of those deaths were blamed on the way the roads they were on worked.
Nargis Begum was one of the victims - hit by a lorry on the M1.
Her son Niaz Shazad told the Mail: "With people including my own mother being killed on these roads, there needs to be accountability.’
Sally's Jacob's husband was also killed on the M1, at a stretch without a hard shoulder. She said: "It’s no longer manslaughter, it’s murder. They know they’re killing their citizens. What are they waiting for? A coachload of children to be killed or something horrific like that?"
National Highways Chief Executive Nick Harris said: “We recognise concerns continue to be raised about smart motorways.
"These upgrades work as a system, with technology, infrastructure and people working together, and data shows fatalities are less likely than on conventional motorways.
"If there is a problem with any one part of the system, other parts are activated to help keep traffic moving safely.
"Our traffic officers work around the clock, every day of the year to help drivers and deal with incidents.
"We are, however, investigating these allegations as a matter of urgency.”
