Mrs Mercer said the strength of feeling and number of messages about smart motorways had only increased over the years.
She said: “I started by flicking through as many emails and messages as possible and picking out common themes.
“They ranged from ‘boycott the first lane’ to details of the many, many terrifying experiences people had on smart motorways.”
She added that she was forced to limit the date range of messages to just the last two years “because the number of messages sent – and still coming in – would make gathering and displaying of all this impossible”.
Mrs Mercer said she hoped politicians would understand the strength of feeling from drivers, adding: “This is our day-to-day. People have to use motorways day in, day out for the mundane, normal things.”
Responding, a National Highways spokesperson said the organisation’s data “continues to show that, overall, all three types of smart motorway are safer than conventional motorways in terms of deaths or serious injuries.”
Meanwhile, a Department for Transport spokesperson said the government had recognised public concerns and had already cancelled plans for all new smart motorway schemes.
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