Driving in the hard shoulder!?

Question

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080304/tuk-uk-britain-motorways-fa6b408.html

I might not be seeing the complete picture here, but isn't the idea of a hard shoulder to be a 'lane' for broken down cars? What happens to them now?

Answer 1

look at this

Answer 2

the hard sholder will only be open at peak times and if a car breaks down it it then they will close it again.

Answer 3

I think its a bad idea for the reason you stated ,also how will emergency services gain access in the event of an accident.I think it will lead to increased traffic volume based on parkinsons law that things expand to fit the space available for them

Answer 4

Another brilliant idea - not!!!

Its will end in tears !!!

Answer 5

ok i work on the motorway for the highways agencey  the idea of running the cars down the hardshoulder to get rid of the congestion and keep the motoway running. when the hard shoulder is in operation for running traffic there will be a 50 mph limit for that part of the carrageway and  every 100 metres there will be a lay by for broken down cars or larrys ect if they brake down before getting to the layby the controll office will be watching the traffic and if they see any problem they will send the highways traffic officers to you to move you by towing or if its a wagon they will stop the traffic comen down the hard shouler and make it back in to a 3 lane carrageway it works trust me its been tested on the m1 and the m5 in places

Answer 6

I agree. It seems like that would only increase congestion because broken down cars on the shoulder may be struck by other cars.

Answer 7

I was thinking this when I saw the item on the news. What if you broke down or ran out of petrol and you stopped and there was a 40-ton truck roaring up behind you?

It seems like madness. Will we have to wait for a tragedy before they stop this madness?

Answer 8

I agree with you, Where are the broken down cars goin to go... in the fast lane!!!

Answer 9

The hard shoulder is for broken down cars and if they remove well they will have a mass pile up on there hands :s

Answer 10

Good Question !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 11

Four problems in my mind.

1) The shoulder is narrow but would mainly be used by WIDE lorries.

2) It is not contructed to the same standard as the main lanes so it will wear badly.

3) How do you safely cross a steady stream of lorries to turn off as you have to slow dow to do it and they will be most annoyed - to put it mildly!

4) Where do you go if you break down - imagine the shambles!

Bad, cheapo government idea - how about spending some of the tax on vehicles on roads intead of creaming off some 85%+ for wars and their pensions - and wages - and expenses and WHY!

RoyS.

Answer 12

Ruth Kelly is brain dead for pushing this through. "Apparently" it's worked on the continent and on the M42 but it's a disaster waiting to happen on the roads they are proposing to put it on like the M1 and other m'ways feeding the M25. How the expletive it is going to work on the M4 with those bus lanes is anybody's guess.

Answer 13

all cars are here by ordered not to break down by the government!!!!!

Answer 14

I use the M42 everyday where the trials for this have been in place for ages - they added quite a few lay-bys onto the hard shoulder before they started the trials. They don't use the hard shoulder all day - only at busy periods. It really has worked well. Honest!

Answer 15

The idea is that when traffic reaches a certain volume, sensors in the road turn on a sign telling motorists to use the hard shoulder. The speed limit is, at the same time, reduced to 50 mph. In theory, at least, this should reduce congestion and make our journeys shorter; something that all of us would like.

There will also be lay-by's every 500 metres, and in almost all cases a car which breaks down will be able to coast this distance safely before stopping in the layby.

However, this doesn't mean that the hard shoulder will continue to be used by motorists. Cameras monitoring the motorway will keep a close eye on any broken down vehicles, and as soon as one is spotted the motorway will revert back to three lanes, allowing emergency services to safely reach the stranded vehicle.

A similar system has been used for some years on the German autobahns and has been very successful in cutting congestion and journey times. I'm all for it.

Answer 16

Yes, something is definitely wrong with this.