Open petition: Mandate wheelchair-accessible emergency safety zones in motorway barriers

Created by Jodie Austin
Closes on 3 January 2027

We ask the Government to require National Highways to install wheelchair‑accessible emergency gates, ramps or lowered alcoves along motorway barriers, especially where no hard shoulder exists. The Department for Transport should update the DMRB to ensure disabled drivers can also reach safety.

Current motorway guidance (“Go Left, Get Safe”) instructs drivers to exit their vehicles and wait behind the barrier, but standard steel and concrete barriers are impossible for paraplegic and wheelchair‑using drivers to cross. On motorways without a hard shoulder, this leaves disabled motorists trapped in live lanes or narrow refuge areas. Installing accessible rear‑opening gates or roll‑through alcoves at intervals would provide a safe, equal escape route for all.

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