Presently, the Police take a dim view of you using the hard shoulder for non emergency use. They can issue a ticket and fine should they deem so.
But hang on…….there’s money to be made….
So, the plan to have a toll camera over the hard shoulder, and if a certain sign says it’s OK to use it in order to get off the motorway at next exit, you can do so…..at 42 pence a mile.
Dumb idea or a good congestion remover?
I’ve needed the hard shoulder twice in my drivetime. Once was a check of my hatchback door, which I thought was open (Wasn’t). The 2nd time was a true emergency, I hit a very large bird (Goose I think) at 70mph, luckily it hit the grille area not the windscreen. After the impact there were some nasty industrial noises which sounded serious, so I got to the hard shoulder as fast as possible. I did not need to check that the hard shoulder was empty, because it’s supposed to be! If a car was travelling along it, would motorists look to the left to check? Some cars don’t even have a left wing mirror (By design).
IMHO, I think it is just another way of extracting money from the proletariat.
Road tax (Even more taxing if you have a gas guzzler), Fuel duty, Speed Camera tax, Toll roads tax and now a possible Hard shoulder tax. Not to mention VAT and SAYE tax, both of which are twice the cost they should be (If the country was managed properly, which is impossible because politicians are involved).
By: Spitfire Pilot - 5th November 2008 at 11:48
The purpose of the hard shoulder is to give a person in an emergency situation a reasonably safe place to stop on the miles of motorway. If it’s used for relieving congested traffic where the devil are those motorists going to go.
It’s also a fact that when something catches someone by surprise it is often a natural reaction to panick and not remember to carry out the simplest seeming of tasks such as looking over one’s shoulder to check that the Hard Shoulder is clear when it should be.
I’m not saying that that would happen all the time but at high speeds and in emergency situations, panick and nowhere to go can have deadly consequences – it’s surprising just how those with high salaries and warm offices who job it is to think up these ideas, usually forget to actually think 🙂 🙂 🙂 LOL 😀
By: jesterhud - 4th November 2008 at 13:54
The Hard Shoulder – The new album from Marillion – Out now…
By: Spitfire Pilot - 4th November 2008 at 12:59
Yet another crazy idea from inside the minds of those who can afford several cars and huge houses.
It’s like my local council (Powys County Council) have decided to save money by turning off 2 out of 3 street lights in the whole county….I have 1 LIGHT working in my entire street which is situated in a very small car park with houses (including) mine blocking the light on 3 of it’s 4 sides. The result…Complete darkness.
I live only yards from this light but I cannot see my front gate despite actually receiving training in navigating at night etc.
My street (in a small village) is between 150 and 200 metres long and has only an area about 15 metres long and 10 metres wide lit.
An elderly lady near Brecon fell over her own front step (I think) and her face now looks like she jumped in front of a Boeing 747 near the end of it’s takeoff run….and hit it head first.
That was on the FIRST DAY of the blackout regulations. Most of those in my street are retired. If one of them fell over, no-one would be any the wiser.
I hope that woman sues them!!!
Sorry guy’s, off topic I know but saves me starting another thread 🙂 🙂 🙂
By: tenthije - 3rd November 2008 at 19:03
In NL the hard-shoulder is already opened for traffic during rush hours on the busier stretches of road. Those sections all have had emergency parking bays added. The matrix-boards above the road, the ones that notify speed limits etc, will indicate if the hard-shoulder is open or not.
Whether the hard-shoulder is opened or not is decided by the motorway autorities. Typically if the speeds drop to below 80kph they are opened, but I might be off a bit here. If there is an accident up ahead the hard shoulder remains/will be closed for use by emergency services only. On some stretches the hard-shoulder remains closed during freezing as the tarmac tends to be of lower quality.
Only difference is that in NL the access if free of charge.
I think the UK idea will only increase congestion. People will try to merge back onto the motorway before they pass the camera. Same as how people brake when they spot a speedtrap.
By: bazv - 2nd November 2008 at 19:19
To me it is very simple,the hard shoulder should be for emergency use only,I like to keep things simple !
Our government etc are never short of taxation ideas unfortunately.
cheers baz
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October 31, 2008 at 11:11 pm