Written Question·Department for Transport·UIN 91625

Motorways: Road Signs and Markings

Tabled: 17 November 2025
Answered: 20 November 2025
Named Day

Question

Jim McMahon

Labour (Co-op)Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many incidents of inoperable active lane signage were recorded on smart motorways in each year since 2015.

Answer

Simon Lightwood

It is vital that roadside technology is working as intended to best support driver safety and confidence. Smart motorways have a system of inter-related features that work together to keep drivers moving safely and reduce reliance on one single feature.

The Office of Rail and Road has reported on the availability of roadside technology assets on all lane running smart motorways in its three annual assessments of safety performance on the SRN. Between April 2022 and December 2024, monthly availability for signs has ranged from 88.4% to 92.4%, and from 92.3% to 97.4% for signals.

National Highways is continuing to invest in upgrading roadside technology to further improve performance and availability.