Hard shoulder to be opened

New congestion cutting plan raises danger concerns

By PH Staff / Friday, 1 September 2006 / Loading comments

Hard shoulder to become available

The government is to pilot a scheme that allows people to use the motorway hard shoulder in a bid to cut traffic jams. It reckons that it'll cost £100 million for the scheme, rather than the £500 million it would cost to add more lanes.

While we've heard proposals along such lines before, this scheme is going live. The 'new' left lane will be brought into use with a 50mph speed limit when congestion builds up on an 11 mile stretch of the M42, from junction 3a to 7, near Birmingham from 12 September.

Drivers will be directed as to whether the hard shoulder is available for general use by overhead electronic signs. The system will be activated by sensors in the road.

What happens if you break down? There'll be emergency refuges or lay-bys every 500 yards or so -- although you don't always get a choice as to where exactly you break down: that's the problem with breakdowns.

The Highways Agency said that, with the use of CCTV, the signs can warn drivers "within seconds" that someone has broken down on the hard shoulder, by the illumination of a red 'X' on the sign above the hard shoulder.

Roads minister Stephen Ladyman said: "This scheme is an important part of a package of measures the Highways Agency is using to cut congestion in the West Midlands. This flexible approach to opening and closing all motorway lanes, including the hard shoulder, to manage traffic shows how innovation and the latest technology can be used to cut congestion."

Dangers of the hard shoulder

And yet, only three months ago, the Highways Agency issued this bulletin, which warns of the danger of sitting in a car in the hard shoulder:

A heavy goods vehicle collided with a car on the hard shoulder of the M25 earlier this week just minutes after the driver and passenger got out of the vehicle on the advice of Highways Agency Traffic Officers.

Highways Agency Network Operations Manager for the East, Jon Caldwell, said this was the second such incident in his region in as many weeks and today warned drivers who stop on the hard shoulder to get out and stand clear of their vehicle behind the safety barrier.

About 84 per cent of accidents on the M25 hard shoulder involve a parked vehicle being hit, generally by a vehicle in lane one veering onto the hard shoulder; the risk of injury to an occupant of a parked vehicle on the M25 hard shoulder is about 4.5 times that of driving along the motorway; and the M25 has the highest number of hard shoulder accidents of any motorway after the M1.

Malcolm and Sally Jones, from Kent, broke down between junctions 27 and 26 of the M25, near Loughton in Essex, on Tuesday (6 June 2006) and were sat in their car waiting for their recovery organisation to arrive when Traffic Officers Leo Coleman and Paul Longhurst stopped to offer them advice on their safety.

The Traffic Officers advised them to put on their hazard warning lights, get out of the car on the left-hand-side furthest away from the moving traffic and stand behind the safety barrier whilst waiting.

Within 15 minutes of continuing their patrol, the Traffic Officers were called back to the scene where a heavy goods vehicle had collided into the back of the Jones' car.

Network Operations Manager, Jon Caldwell said: "Fortunately Mr and Mrs Jones followed our advice and though shaken-up were unhurt. On many occasions though motorists do not take our advice and this accident highlights the importance of getting as far away from motorway traffic as is possible and safe to do so should your vehicle break down.

"Our Traffic Officers often encounter motorists sitting in their vehicles on the hard shoulder, especially when it is cold or raining and they would rather stick to the confines of the car where it is warm and dry.

"While comfortable, this could prove to be a really dangerous decision as it only takes a matter of seconds for somebody travelling at 70 miles-an-hour on the motorway to lose concentration and stray onto the hard shoulder, possibly striking the stranded vehicle.

"People use the hard shoulder for all sorts of things, from answering their mobile telephones to taking comfort breaks and there has even been a recent case of a man releasing a cage of racing pigeons from the hard shoulder on the M1 in the East Midlands.

"Motorists should use the hard shoulder in an emergency but they must be aware that it is a dangerous place. Our patrols may spot broken-down vehicles but motorists can also use the roadside telephones every mile-or-so on the motorway to speak directly to one of our operators and get help from the Traffic Officer Service."