Using Hard Shoulder?
Discussion
Yesterday, I was stuck on the M6 northbound between J15 and J16. I was there for 3 hours. My wife called me to say that one of our 14 month old twins was on his way to A&E and he was not very well at all. Our other boy was in nursery. I live in Perth which is normally a 5 hour drive from where I was.
I was seriously tempted to just blast up the hard shoulder and get home ASAP. I didn't and waited it out and didn't get home until 8pm.
If I had been caught, what would've happened?
I was seriously tempted to just blast up the hard shoulder and get home ASAP. I didn't and waited it out and didn't get home until 8pm.
If I had been caught, what would've happened?
jamiem555 said:
Yesterday, I was stuck on the M6 northbound between J15 and J16. I was there for 3 hours. My wife called me to say that one of our 14 month old twins was on his way to A&E and he was not very well at all. Our other boy was in nursery. I live in Perth which is normally a 5 hour drive from where I was.
I was seriously tempted to just blast up the hard shoulder and get home ASAP. I didn't and waited it out and didn't get home until 8pm.
If I had been caught, what would've happened?
Driving on the hard shoulder without a valid reason carries a penalty of 3 points and a £100 fine I believe.I was seriously tempted to just blast up the hard shoulder and get home ASAP. I didn't and waited it out and didn't get home until 8pm.
If I had been caught, what would've happened?
The fact that your child had been rushed to hospital does not constitute a valid reason as it was not an emergency situation because he was already being dealt with elsewhere.
Had your child been in the car and had become seriously ill then you could claim a legitimate emergency situation and a valid reason to use the hard shoulder, and would most likely face no charge.
I genuinely hope your child is okay and makes a full recovery!
jamiem555 said:
Thanks for that. Yes, all is well. It turned out to be tonsillitis but was started by looking like he was at deaths door!
At the time with a very concerned wife asking me to get home as soon as I can and the feeling of uselessness it was a tempting option.
I usually take what my OH says with a At the time with a very concerned wife asking me to get home as soon as I can and the feeling of uselessness it was a tempting option.
jamiem555 said:
Thanks for that. Yes, all is well. It turned out to be tonsillitis but was started by looking like he was at deaths door!
At the time with a very concerned wife asking me to get home as soon as I can and the feeling of uselessness it was a tempting option.
I can well imagine the anguish you were going through - Especially if these are your first children.At the time with a very concerned wife asking me to get home as soon as I can and the feeling of uselessness it was a tempting option.
(If you have more children you'll probably both become a lot more blasé about these sort of things believe it or not!).
To be fair, had you driven up the hard shoulder and been stopped by the Police, you might have got lucky and found an understanding Officer who would sympathise with you and just give you a caution, but the vast majority would probably not believe you any way and give you a FPN.
Glad to hear your baby is on the mend, that's the most important thing!
jamiem555 said:
Yesterday, I was stuck on the M6 northbound between J15 and J16. I was there for 3 hours.
Anything to do with this? - http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news...Glad to hear your sprog's ailment wasn't anything life threatening.
4rephill said:
Driving on the hard shoulder without a valid reason carries a penalty of 3 points and a £100 fine I believe.
The fact that your child had been rushed to hospital does not constitute a valid reason as it was not an emergency situation because he was already being dealt with elsewhere.
Had your child been in the car and had become seriously ill then you could claim a legitimate emergency situation and a valid reason to use the hard shoulder, and would most likely face no charge.
I used the hard shoulder once on the M25 with heavy congestion in a non emergency situation. The police did write to me and I explained my decision to use it, I was not fined or issued with any points.The fact that your child had been rushed to hospital does not constitute a valid reason as it was not an emergency situation because he was already being dealt with elsewhere.
Had your child been in the car and had become seriously ill then you could claim a legitimate emergency situation and a valid reason to use the hard shoulder, and would most likely face no charge.
TBH if I had been in your shoes I would've used the hard shoulder and risked receiving fine/points. It is also a possibility they would let you off, just be extremely cautious and provide supporting documentation when contacted.
Doppelkupplung said:
I used the hard shoulder once on the M25 with heavy congestion in a non emergency situation. The police did write to me and I explained my decision to use it, I was not fined or issued with any points.
TBH if I had been in your shoes I would've used the hard shoulder and risked receiving fine/points. It is also a possibility they would let you off, just be extremely cautious and provide supporting documentation when contacted.
Had the OP been local to the hospital (i.e in the same county at least), then it would be a good possibility that the police would let him off, but as he was still @ 300 miles from the hospital it's highly doubtful, especially as the situation at home was already being dealt with.TBH if I had been in your shoes I would've used the hard shoulder and risked receiving fine/points. It is also a possibility they would let you off, just be extremely cautious and provide supporting documentation when contacted.
Added to which, despite the situation being real, how often have the Police heard such excuses?
TBH, had I'd been in the same situation as the OP then I would have seriously have considered using the hard too, after all, which is more important? - The welfare of those you love the most or three points on your licence and a £100 fine?
By the same token though, with 300 miles to go, how many more risks do you take to get there?
If you lose your driving license due to a conviction for some reason, is that going to help your family in the future?
It's a tough call and one I'm glad to say I wouldn't have to make.
The main thing is, the OP's child is on the road to recovery - That's all that really matters!
HantsRat said:
Never use the hard shoulder unless it's an emergency!
You will be getting points & a fine. We get CCTV footage sent to us to contact and prosecute drivers who use the hard shoulder with no valid reason. Plus if you do it in front of me, you will not be getting just a warning.
Isn't that the point of the OP? Define "emergency". He believed it was an emergency.You will be getting points & a fine. We get CCTV footage sent to us to contact and prosecute drivers who use the hard shoulder with no valid reason. Plus if you do it in front of me, you will not be getting just a warning.
HantsRat said:
Never use the hard shoulder unless it's an emergency!
You will be getting points & a fine. We get CCTV footage sent to us to contact and prosecute drivers who use the hard shoulder with no valid reason. Plus if you do it in front of me, you will not be getting just a warning.
Shame you weren't around on M40 yesterday,there were more cars shooting up the hard shoulder than that was queuing up at one stage You will be getting points & a fine. We get CCTV footage sent to us to contact and prosecute drivers who use the hard shoulder with no valid reason. Plus if you do it in front of me, you will not be getting just a warning.
Mate truly hope so seeing taking the piss like that when you're obeying the rules of the land and what's worse further up the road seeing cars broken down on the shoulder puts their actions in to damn dangerous category.i was not even tempted for two reasons one as said dangerous and two my vehicle is all sign written with a well known yellow co and was rec'ing a car at the time,sitting there close to two hrs was not fun.
Mate truly hope so seeing taking the piss like that when you're obeying the rules of the land and what's worse further up the road seeing cars broken down on the shoulder puts their actions in to damn dangerous category.i was not even tempted for two reasons one as said dangerous and two my vehicle is all sign written with a well known yellow co and was rec'ing a car at the time,sitting there close to two hrs was not fun.
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