A coroner has written to Highways England after a dad of four died when he hit a broken down Land Rover stuck on a smart motorway with no hard shoulder to pull on to.

Zoltan Torok, 42, crashed into the back of a Land Rover Discovery on the M4 near Juction 6, Slough.

The engineer rode his Honda motorbike straight into the grey car without braking after being momentarily distracted by the driver and passenger.

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The pair had escaped to safety behind the roadside barrier after their 4x4 suffered an "unexpected and inexplicable" mechanical problem.

The section of road was being converted into a smart motorway, which typically do not have any safety lanes or hard shoulders for cars to pull over in case of emergency.

An inquest at Reading Town Hall into Mr Torok's death concluded the crash would not have occurred if the broken down Land Rover had been able to escape the traffic.

But the driver had little choice but to stop in the lane shortly before the exit at Junction 6 at around 3pm on 7 May 2021 because the near side of the inner lane was a solid concrete wall.

Even though Mr Torok was driving under the speed limit, he did not see the stationary car until it was too late. He died on the road after sustaining multiple catastrophic injuries.

Smart motorways are without hard shoulders which become an extra lane and gantries above should show a red X signalling the lane is closed if a car breaks down.

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Four coroners raised concerns last year that scrapping the hard shoulder to create a fourth lane risks lives.

At least 38 people have died on smart motorways between 2015 and 2020.

In his report, assistant Coroner for Berkshire Ian Wade QC said: "The driver and passenger of the Land Rover were able to leave the vehicle and find safety beyond the roadside barrier but their presence standing by the side of the motorway momentarily distracted Zoltan's attention from the road ahead and he rode into the rear of the stationary Land Rover without decreasing his speed, causing catastrophic multiple injuries from which he died in the highway.

"The inquest heard evidence from the police collision investigator that the collision would not have occurred if the broken down Land Rover had been able to pull out of the running lane into a refuge or onto a traditional hard shoulder.

"On the date of the death the particular section of the M4 motorway was not completed as a smart motorway, but was substantially in course of conversion such that to all intents and purposes it had the intended characteristics of a smart motorway, specifically that there was no run-off lane or safety lane or hard shoulder, but all lanes were running lanes.

"The edge of the near side of the inner lane was a solid continuous concrete wall.

"In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken."

The report was sent to Highways England who have 56 days to come up with a plan of action to help prevent future deaths or explain why not.

Mr Wade QC added: "The essential purpose of a motorway as a multi-lane high speed direct communication between locations likely to be long distances apart is both undermined, and has a tendency to potentiate risks to road users, if the running lanes are liable suddenly and unexpectedly to become blocked in a dynamic situation, with no refuge available to the stranded vehicle.

"In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action."

Mixing smart and traditional motorways poses a risk to motorists who may think it safe to drive in the left or inner lane, the court heard from a mechanical engineer with more than 40 years experience in the motor industry.

The conclusion of the inquest was that Mr Torok died from multiple injuries in a road traffic collision.

There are roughly 375 miles of smart motorway currently in operation, 235 of which do not have a hard shoulder, including almost the entire M25 and long stretches of the M1.

David Bray, National Highways Programme Director, said: "Every road death is a tragic loss of life and our condolences are with Mr Torok's family and friends.

"The safety of our network is of the utmost importance to us.
"We will carefully consider the coroner's report and will respond to the coroner in detail in the coming weeks."