Following a tragic crash on the M4 smart motorway, there is growing pressure to reform rules governing smart motorway safety across England’s busiest roads. The incident involved Barry O’Sullivan, who was convicted of causing the death of 68-year-old Pulvinder Dhillon by careless driving in March 2022.
O’Sullivan, 45, collided with Dhillon’s Nissan Micra, which was stationary in the fast lane due to a breakdown. Crucially, it was revealed that the M4’s smart motorway radar system failed to alert the control room about the stranded vehicle because of a technical fault that persisted for five days prior to the collision.
Judge Amjad Nawaz, presiding at Reading Crown Court, criticised O’Sullivan for not noticing the stopped car despite multiple visual cues and no attempt to slow down. He sentenced O’Sullivan to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months.
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AA President Edmund King emphasised the importance of reliable technology on smart motorways. “These systems are designed to alert drivers to broken-down vehicles in live lanes,” he said. “In this case and others, the technology simply wasn’t working. This crash was avoidable.”
King called for the Government to reinstate hard shoulders across motorways and end what he described as a “failed experiment” with smart motorways. Similarly, RAC Head of Policy Simon Williams warned, “If any part of the system fails, lives are placed in jeopardy.”
National Highways, responsible for motorway management, expressed condolences to Dhillon’s family and affirmed the seriousness with which they take road safety. “No death on our roads is acceptable,” they said, noting the guilty verdict against O’Sullivan.
The case has intensified debate on smart motorway safety protocols and the need for robust, fail-safe systems to protect motorists, especially those vulnerable when forced to stop in live lanes.