Driving on the hard shoulder

[Gabsgrandad]

It seems that the proposal to open the hard shoulder on some m-ways in some areas is progressing. The prospect of breaking down on a normal m - way is bad enough, and frightens me. But to breakdown without a hard shoulder to get onto, personally I would be terrified if it happened to me. Who are the 'brains' behind this? Don't they drive? What do caravanners think?

 

[Mel]

My only experience of this is on the M42 which is a "managed motorway". Controlled I believe by actual people whatching via cameras and who open and close sections of the hard shoulder via overhead Matrix signs. (you probably already know this). I haven't ever seen a problem because someone had broken down and can only assume that the hard shoulder is closed to traffic should this happen. However, like you, I wouldn't want to be the one broken down.

 

[otherclive]

The system on the M42 mirrors that in Holland and when hard shoulder operation is in play the overhead speed limit signs are generally set at 50mph or lower. This slowing down of the flow and less lane changing makes for a less frenetic drive. There are refuges which are like large lay byes and can take full HGVs so an outfit would be no problem. Overall it's a pragmatic solution to improving traffic flows on congested motorways. Even hard shoulders are very high risk. When a bad accident occurs on the hard shoulder the failed vehicle as only been there for an average of 12 minutes.
The French autoroutes have minimal hard shoulders which are the worst of all options. The hard shoulder operation like M42 is currently being introduced on the M4-M5 junction at Bristol. Which will be a major gain for both commuters and holiday drivers.

 

[Sproket]

They have nearly completed a 30 mile stretch of the M62 near to where we live between J25 & J30, we both have to use it daily to travel to & from work, even though there are average speed cameras on the whole stretch some drivers do not understand what the meaning of average speed means
Motorway speed fines up 1000%
When we have to tow the van on some of that stretch we always try to avoid peak time traffic.
Police crack down on bullying motorway tactics

 

[MichaelE]

I would be more worried about the debris that sits on the hard shoulder?

 

[otherclive]

The M42 section of managed motorway is regularly swept, patrolled by the Highways Agency and is under CCTV surveillance when being managed as an extra lane. There's less chance of hitting debris on that section than on a normal section of motorway. The vehicles that tend to use the extra hard shoulder lane are generally ones that need to exit the motorway in that section. This frees up the normal lanes to reduce traffic congestion. So you would be most unlikley to find yourself on the hard shoulder lane and in an emergency if you did have to pull over to the left and drive to the safety refuge you are less likley to hit debris than most other sections of our motorways. If you couldnt make the refuge you would be spotted very quickly and because the traffic speeds are managed and lower than normal M way speed limits you are probably at no more risk of a tail ender than on a normal A road and less so than on a 70mph dual carriageway. In the unlikley event of an accident to you, the CCTV surveillance would aid quick assistance. In the time that it has been opened has anyone heard of an accident caused by the M42 managed hard shoulder system? Ive not seen anything in the media.
On the M42 managed section I tend to sit in the normal lane 1 so if I have to pull over for any reason there's only the hard shoulder lane which I have to enter, then nearing my junction for the M42-M5 route I move into the M5-bound lanes as per the overhead signage.

 

[Dustydog]

The crasse stupidty of successive Governments and Civil Servants never ceases to amaze me

The British Motorway was conceived on the back of German Autobahns when your average family sallon car, Ford Prefects , Austin A35 etc could barely reach 70mph and had a great propensity to breakdown.
Hence the hard shoulder was designed as a safe refuge for those unfortunate to break down. To this day I see many breakdowns on the hard shoulder. To now use this as an operational lane will surely result in more accidents , injuries and even death!!
Why do these autocrats keep reinventing the wheel

 

[Parksy]

The motorways should have been designed with more lanes in the first place and the elevated sections of the M6 and M5 in the West Midlands, especially the Ray Hall interchange where the two motorways meet, has been a traffic bottleneck for years.
There is no possibility of reconstructing these overhead sections now, and the M6 toll which was meant to relieve congestion is unpopular because of the high toll charges.
Besides the M42 which has used the hard shoulder to releive congestion for some time, the hard shoulders on sections of the M6 to and from the M5 interchange are now extra lanes at peak times and this has helped a little bit.
As already described, the hard shoulder lanes are closely monitored and overhead gantries warn of speed restrictions and lane closures. The hard shoulder has been resurfaced to make it safe to drive on, it's kept clean, the system works well and feels safe.

 

[otherclive]

The crasse stupidty of successive Governments and Civil Servants never ceases to amaze me

The British Motorway was conceived on the back of German Autobahns when your average family sallon car, Ford Prefects , Austin A35 etc could barely reach 70mph and had a great propensity to breakdown.
Hence the hard shoulder was designed as a safe refuge for those unfortunate to break down. To this day I see many breakdowns on the hard shoulder. To now use this as an operational lane will surely result in more accidents , injuries and even death!!
Why do these autocrats keep reinventing the wheel

It's not a normal operational lane as both I and Parksy have explained. It is used under carefully controlled traffic managemnt procedures backed up by surveillance and flow monitoring technology. You have no evidence whatsoever that it causes more accidents. To assess such a hypotheses you could ask for the relevant statistics under FOI Act. Yes in a perfect world we would have all the lanes we require, Last year driving to Krakow via Colgne, Nurnberg and Prague those autobahns rivalled the M6 for congestion , as did the return trip through the Rhineland. Heck on the whole trip I could only drive at 120 mph on one small section before catching up with other traffic (lol)!!

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

It's not a normal operational lane as both I and Parksy have explained. It is used under carefully controlled traffic managemnt procedures backed up by surveillance and flow monitoring technology. You have no evidence whatsoever that it causes more accidents.

thats fine Clive but what bothers me is and yes I use the M62/M1 section regulary is if the 4th lane is opened (peak flow) and there is an accident how on earth is the emergency services going to get to the scene as now they go up the hard shoulder!!!.
when this is full of traffic there will be no way through, closing the 4th lane wont work as there will be nowhere for the traffic in that lane to move over as all the other lanes would by then be a car park!!!

 

[JonnyG]

It's not a normal operational lane as both I and Parksy have explained. It is used under carefully controlled traffic managemnt procedures backed up by surveillance and flow monitoring technology. You have no evidence whatsoever that it causes more accidents.

thats fine Clive but what bothers me is and yes I use the M62/M1 section regulary is if the 4th lane is opened (peak flow) and there is an accident how on earth is the emergency services going to get to the scene as now they go up the hard shoulder!!!.
when this is full of traffic there will be no way through, closing the 4th lane wont work as there will be nowhere for the traffic in that lane to move over as all the other lanes would by then be a car park!!!

I suppose they will have to do it the same way as they have had to do it on numerous 70mph dualcarraigeways which dont have a hard shoulder either........

 

[otherclive]

I agree that emergency access can be a concern, but with Managed Motorways (Speed gantry control and no HS ops) and Through Junction Operation (gantry control and HS ops as per M42) the level of surveillance and control excercised via signage is much greater than for a normal motorway. Gantry sensors and in carriageway sensors alert control room staff to a change in traffic flows very quickly. There is also the technology available from ANPR and scenario detection software ( like face recognition in Picassa but times more complex) to again automatically alert Control Room operators.
The Hard shoulder opertion sections are where traffic congestion is high and often affected by frequent junctions. In the event of vehicle going into a refuge the sensors alert the Control Room (no pee stops then!). If there were an accident the gantries at 800m intervals combined with Control Room actions can slow or stop the traffic upstream of the incident, and also stop traffic joining the M way. The hard shoulder lane is halted and traffic merged back into lanes 1,2&3 whichever are best. Downstream of the accident traffic moves onwards and clears the scene. Emergency vehicles can join from either direction as advised by the Control room, who can also gauge the accident severity. Traffic in the opposite direction can also be halted if required for access. Given that speeds are lower accident severity should be less than for a normal three lane M way. A 50mph you carry half as much energy as at 70mph!
There is a very good document produced by the Dept Transport explaining the concept of Managed Motorways and Through Junction Operations. Here is the link:http://www.dft.gov.uk/ha/standards/tech_info/files/MM-DHS%20Concept%20of%20Operations.pdf

A few facts from the M42 Through Junction Operations: It costs £5-£15M per mile for TJO and takes two years to implement. Widening to four lanes from three costs £79M pm and can take up to 10 years. On M42 journey time cut by 25%. Accident rates fell from 5pm to 1.5pm. No statement on accident severity or costs. No accidents attributed to TJO. Pollution down by 10%. Compliance with speed limits 98%. Not a bad outcome froma load of "Autocrats eh?"

 

[Gabsgrandad]

I have been reading up on "managed" motorways - so that I hopefully know what I'm doing when I encounter one.
One or two points spring to mind:-
1. Refuges are 500 yds apart, there are plans to change this to 1.5miles (my last M way break down was last year - resulting in instant loss of power, - I couldn't do 100 yards never mind 1.5 miles.)
2. One bit of 'advice' quoted, - "If you can't get to the refuge lane, stop and stay in your car for protection" This is completely contrary to normal m-way advice, ie. get out of your vehicle and over the barrier.
I'm on the M62 this weekend going round Manchester to Wales so shall probaby see it in action this weekend.
Having read up on it It really hasn't alleviated my doubts!

 

[Dustydog]

Clive
I couldn't open your link but guess the one below is pretty well much the same.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/ha/standards/ians/pdfs/ian112.pdf

It seems the prime consideration is continual traffic flow without holdups. Arguably the slower speeds may not shorten or even increase journey times but there will no doubt be a saving on fuel burn

The link does go into some of the contra indicators raised here but still leaves me feeling uncertain what to do in a breakdown situation? Are the lanes all patrolled by Highway Agency staff who will then phone the breakdown services for me. Ah ha I don't have a mobile phone.

As Gabsgrandad says how do you choose to have your breakdown by a refuge ?
I see where they are coming from wwith all this but I can't help feel it's a bit of wallpapering over the cracks. So why not spend the extra money now and widen the Mways? High speed rail links seem to get the funding!

 

[otherclive]

Clive
I couldn't open your link but guess the one below is pretty well much the same.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/ha/standards/ians/pdfs/ian112.pdf

It seems the prime consideration is continual traffic flow without holdups. Arguably the slower speeds may not shorten or even increase journey times but there will no doubt be a saving on fuel burn

The link does go into some of the contra indicators raised here but still leaves me feeling uncertain what to do in a breakdown situation? Are the lanes all patrolled by Highway Agency staff who will then phone the breakdown services for me. Ah ha I don't have a mobile phone.

As Gabsgrandad says how do you choose to have your breakdown by a refuge ?
I see where they are coming from wwith all this but I can't help feel it's a bit of wallpapering over the cracks. So why not spend the extra money now and widen the Mways? High speed rail links seem to get the funding!

surely the aim for all highways is to keep traffic flowing smoothly and safely? The Government documents above give considerable detail on how the traffic situation is monitored in their 62 pages. When the hard shoulder is in operation the surveillance is by CCTV from control rooms although initial setting of the speed limit signs can be automatic as traffic flow changes. The gantries have cameras and ANPR and there are road sensors too. It would be unrealistic to expect a breakdown near a refuge but what about total loss of power on a normal motorway if in lane 2 or 3 (solo)? M42 statistics show accidents down from 5 per month to 1.5 per month, yet there would almost certainly have been breakdowns or blow outs. Yet accident rates were down. I would venture to suggest that the accident severity would be less given reduced speeds and less lane changing but no figures unearthed.

Looking at another scenario you are travelling the A303 ordinary two lane road doing 50 mph, then you come onto the dual carriageway section and speed increases to 60 mph but on this section traffic around you is travelling at up to 80 mph, then you pass Exeter and hit the A38 dual carriageway which widens to three lanes approaching Plymouth. Traffic speeds up to 80mph and above yet you are still doing 60 mph. Apart from around Exeter none of the roads on this journey have hard shoulders. I think I'd rather be on the M42!

Last point accidents on normal M way hard shoulders occur on average 12 minutes after the disabled car went onto the hard shoulder. Using a mobile to get breakdown assistance is not good sense. Use the emergency phones and they will contact your recovery company and send the HA or Police to protect your car. You shouldn't need protecting as by then driver and occupants are out of the car and well away..... hopefully.

 

[RogerL]

I'm a regular user of the M42 managed flow section, both solo and towing, both off-peak when the NSL (70mph solo/60mph towing) applies and during peak when the variable speed limit is in operation - in moderate congestion where the limit is generally 60 but with 50 near busy junctions the difference in journey time compared to off-peak is negligible - there is some extra time needed during heavy congestion with lower limits but journey times are much quicker than the "bad old days" before they put the scheme in.
The local control room has camera surveillance from every gantry as well as vehicle speed monitors so breakdowns/accidents in travel lanes are seen almost instantly and the necessary actions taken, ie close that lane and reduce speed limits in other lanes - those who manage to breakdown in a refuge are seen and responded to quickly as well.
Somehow, the M42 managed flow system seems to calm drivers down and make everyone far more courteous and considerate, eg letting drivers merge in after junctions and changing lanes i good time before junctions.
In heavily congested urban areas the managed flow systems work well, improving traffic flow and reducing accident rates - however I'm sceptical about their use on long-distance rural motorways because they simply cannot be monitored as well, in these cases I prefer to see a 4-lane motorway with full hard shoulder although losing the hard shoulder at bridges is no real hardship.

 

[otherclive]

I'm a regular user of the M42 managed flow section, both solo and towing, both off-peak when the NSL (70mph solo/60mph towing) applies and during peak when the variable speed limit is in operation - in moderate congestion where the limit is generally 60 but with 50 near busy junctions the difference in journey time compared to off-peak is negligible - there is some extra time needed during heavy congestion with lower limits but journey times are much quicker than the "bad old days" before they put the scheme in.
The local control room has camera surveillance from every gantry as well as vehicle speed monitors so breakdowns/accidents in travel lanes are seen almost instantly and the necessary actions taken, ie close that lane and reduce speed limits in other lanes - those who manage to breakdown in a refuge are seen and responded to quickly as well.
Somehow, the M42 managed flow system seems to calm drivers down and make everyone far more courteous and considerate, eg letting drivers merge in after junctions and changing lanes i good time before junctions.
In heavily congested urban areas the managed flow systems work well, improving traffic flow and reducing accident rates - however I'm sceptical about their use on long-distance rural motorways because they simply cannot be monitored as well, in these cases I prefer to see a 4-lane motorway with full hard shoulder although losing the hard shoulder at bridges is no real hardship.

Roger you echo my views precisely. Ever since the managed section of the M25 around the Heathrow area introduced gantry cameras and turned some sections from 3 lane to 4 lane without extra widening its been obvious that traffic flow improved as did driving behaviours. It's neigh on impossible to 'press on ' when all around are driving at the speed limit. The additional technology and surveillance has improved immeasurably since then.

Im not aware of any plans to introduce hard shoulder operations in rural areas, why would they unless congestion was a major issue?

 

[RogerL]

Im not aware of any plans to introduce hard shoulder operations in rural areas, why would they unless congestion was a major issue?

The M6 between the west end of the M6 Toll northwards to the M56 has long been debated for widening, because it's so congested - I thought one of the options was a managed scheme like the M42 but I prefer the permanent 4th lane solution as built on other parts of the M1 and M6, even though the hard shoulder ends at every bridge.

 

[Steve L]

Having averaged 60K miles per annum over 35 years of driving, I've only had occassion to use motorway hard shoulders for two breakdowns.
One where I had to winch our broken down 4X4 tow tug onto it's Ifor Williams trailer and tow home with our Espace. The Hertfordshire police who co-ordinated the rescue were happy to let my driver stay parked on the hard shoulder until I arrived some 3 hours later. Dave the driver wasn't though as he had a banging headache from traffic wizzing by.
My other experience was when I had a wheel bearing shatter on our boat trailer. This time I was able to travel at about 5mph along the hard shoulder to the service area to affect repairs.
Motorway hard shoulder's do have their place but due to overzelous health and safety, now insist's that you are towed by approved recovery agents at extravagent inflated prices because you are "captive audience". on average it costs around £400 to be towed off the motorway to a service area or the next exit and into a garage.
I think it is perfectly plausable to follow the M42 setup and open the hard shoulder as a temporary lane while under the gaze of cctv operation. There is a lot of fine tuning to be done though as when I've travelled the M42, the overhead lane speed control doesn't represent the true road speed conditions and often a speed restriction is in place when realistically it is not needed.
While on the subject of motorways, I'm very pleased to hear that as of July, £100 fines are being implemented for tailgating, middle lane hogging and the use of mobile phones while driving. It's been a long time coming and will be a much needed revenue soarse for the government. Rather then them taxing all of us via fuel and road tax.
As already pointed out, debris on the motorway is a concern and not only on the hard shoulder, but all the lanes.

 

[otherclive]

Having averaged 60K miles per annum over 35 years of driving, I've only had occassion to use motorway hard shoulders for two breakdowns.
One where I had to winch our broken down 4X4 tow tug onto it's Ifor Williams trailer and tow home with our Espace. The Hertfordshire police who co-ordinated the rescue were happy to let my driver stay parked on the hard shoulder until I arrived some 3 hours later. Dave the driver wasn't though as he had a banging headache from traffic wizzing by.
My other experience was when I had a wheel bearing shatter on our boat trailer. This time I was able to travel at about 5mph along the hard shoulder to the service area to affect repairs.
Motorway hard shoulder's do have their place but due to overzelous health and safety, now insist's that you are towed by approved recovery agents at extravagent inflated prices because you are "captive audience". on average it costs around £400 to be towed off the motorway to a service area or the next exit and into a garage.
I think it is perfectly plausable to follow the M42 setup and open the hard shoulder as a temporary lane while under the gaze of cctv operation. There is a lot of fine tuning to be done though as when I've travelled the M42, the overhead lane speed control doesn't represent the true road speed conditions and often a speed restriction is in place when realistically it is not needed.
While on the subject of motorways, I'm very pleased to hear that as of July, £100 fines are being implemented for tailgating, middle lane hogging and the use of mobile phones while driving. It's been a long time coming and will be a much needed revenue soarse for the government. Rather then them taxing all of us via fuel and road tax.
As already pointed out, debris on the motorway is a concern and not only on the hard shoulder, but all the lanes.

thecweb link below cites the case of Shaun Meakins who broke down on the motorway and had no method of recovery. Under statutory powers a Traffic Officer can authorise the removal of a vehicle to a place of safety if it is a safety hazard or an obstruction. It cost him £143 in 2011. So if you do break down and cannot get to the hard shoulder it is likely you may have to pay, but for an incident where you can reach the hard shoulder your recovery company will be able to attend you and if required take you to a safer place, or home. Waiting for colleagues, relatives etc will probably lead to statutory removal.


https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/price_of_vehicle_removal_form_mo