Drivers could face a £100 fine and three points on their licence for failing to follow a common rule every time they drive on a motorway.
A survey by road charity safety IAM RoadSmart found that the incident had occurred more than 53,000 times since 2021.
Motorists can be slapped with the fine for ignoring red X signs or entering a closed lane while using a smart motorway.
National Highways switch on closed lane signs when stopped vehicles are detected in live lanes to prevent crashes and to protect emergency services.
It comes after a law change, which came into force in September 2022, allowing police to use enforcement cameras to prosecute motorists who flout the signs.
Drivers could face a £100 fine and three points on their licence for failing to follow a common rule every time they drive on a motorway (File image)
If you are caught committing this offence, you could be handed three penalty points, other, more severe penalties, and even be summoned to appear in court.
Figures obtained by IAM RoadSmart following Freedom of Information requests to police forces revealed that 4,393 incidents were recorded in 2021, rising to 20,773 in 2022 and 28,231 in 2023.
IAM RoadSmart director of policy and standards Nicholas Lyes said: ‘Ignoring a red X sign on a smart motorway is dangerous because it risks a serious collision and, for this reason, we welcome police forces clamping down on those who break the law.
‘The majority of drivers have serious reservations about the safety of smart motorways where the hard shoulder has been removed, and these figures are unlikely to persuade them they are safe.
‘We know that no new all-lane running smart motorways will be built but it does beg the question of what we do with the existing stretches that are in operation?
‘This is something the new Government needs to give some serious thought to.’
Smart motorways without a hard shoulder were created to increase capacity without incurring the increased cost of building wider roads.
A National Highways spokesperson said: ‘A Red X signal is there to increase the safety of everyone using the road by highlighting an issue ahead.
‘Above 90% of drivers observe Red X signals, but ignoring Red X signals is an offence and puts themselves and others at risk.’
In April 2023, the then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled all future planned smart motorway projects, due to long-standing safety fears following multiple fatal incidents in which vehicles stopped in live lanes without a hard shoulder were hit from behind.
The building of new smart motorways was cancelled by then=Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in April 2023 (File image)
Campaigners said there have been at least 79 deaths linked to smart motorways, while government figures say there were 38 recorded deaths between 2015 and 2019.
Pressure had long been mounting on the Government to scrap the routes, which have been criticised by MPs and road safety campaigners, including the RAC and AA.
Campaigner Claire Mercer, whose husband was killed on a smart motorway in South Yorkshire, welcomed the Government’s move.
Ms Mercer said: ‘It’s great, it’s very good news. I’m particularly happy that it’s been confirmed that the routes that are in planning, in progress, have also been cancelled. I didn’t think they’d do that.
‘So it’s good news, but obviously it’s the existing ones that are killing us. And I’m not settling for more emergency refuge areas.
‘So it’s half the battle, but we’ve still got half the battle to go.’
