Hard shoulder confusion costing lives

Highways England has discovered that many people are unclear about when to use the hard shoulder, resulting in more than 100 people being killed or injured every year.

Using the hard shoulder is illegal in most cases and can result in a penalty fine of up to £100 and drivers could receive three points on their licence, but there are some exceptions to this rule.

Drivers have been encouraged to pull off the motorway whenever possible, even in the case of a breakdown.

CarShop has attempted to clear up the confusion and help motorists avoid both dangerous situations and fines with a series of guidelines.

The hard shoulder essentially has only two functions: a refuge for broken-down vehicles that could interfere with traffic, and as a lane for emergency vehicles to access accidents. You should only use the hard shoulder when directed to do so by emergency personnel, or when your own car has broken down.

Many drivers will see motorists use the hard shoulder to get ahead of traffic and skip queues when congestion occurs, but this is both illegal and dangerous.

If you break down on the hard shoulder you must put on hazard warning lights and side lights to warn other vehicles. You should not let your pet or any animal out of the car. Pets should be kept inside the vehicle, if an accident is caused by them on the motorway you could face a penalty.

If a breakdown occurs and you have to pull into the hard shoulder, but do not have a phone to call for assistance, you must get out using the left-hand doors and walk to one of the emergency phones located on the hard shoulder. Proceed with extreme caution and always towards oncoming traffic. This is the only time it is legal to walk on the hard shoulder, though this is extremely dangerous so remember to always have a fully charged mobile phone with you on all journeys.

Stopping on the hard shoulder to go to the toilet, even for your children, is not allowed and this is illegal – you could be fined £100. If passengers have travel sickness, drivers are tired, need to use their mobiles or need a rest, hard shoulder use is still not permitted.

A yellow roadworks sign can direct you into the hard shoulder which is perfectly legal. However, once the roadworks are finished you must move back across to the driving lane.

On smart motorways, there will be signs indicating you are allowed to drive on the hard shoulder which is used as another lane to help stop congestion and traffic jams and is therefore completely legal.