Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed that smart motorways are to be reviewed following concerns over driver safety.

Recommendations are expected ‘in a matter of weeks’ to ensure that all motorways are ‘as safe as they possibly can be’ for motorists, Shapps told MPs. This followed Highways England boss Jim O'Sullivan warning that ‘dynamic’ smart motorways are too complicated for drivers.

Smart motorways, created to ease congestion, using computers to monitor the roads and change speed limits, already account for about 400 miles of England's roads, including sections of major motorways like the M1, M6, and M62.

Speaking to the Commons Transport Select Committee, Shapps said: "I have asked my department to carry out at pace an evidence stock-take to gather the facts quickly and make recommendations. Understanding whether they are less safe, the same or safer - it turns out not to be as straightforward as members might imagine - I want all of those facts and recommendations that can be put into place to ensure that all of our motorways are as safe as they possibly can be. I will get this done in a matter of weeks."