The hard shoulder
The hard shoulder is the lane on the far-left side of a motorway, which is separated from the live traffic lanes by a solid white line.
Unless you see signs or signals telling you otherwise, it's illegal to drive on the hard shoulder, or to stop on it except in an emergency. You should only use it in the case of a sudden critical problem with your vehicle which forces you to stop before you can reach the next junction or service area to leave the motorway.
Types of hard shoulder
In some places we've converted the hard shoulder for use as an additional traffic lane, either permanently or at busy times.
If there's no solid white line separating the left-hand lane, this means it's a permanent traffic lane, known as all-lane running.
A hard shoulder which can be opened and closed to traffic is known as a dynamic hard shoulder.
Emergency areas
On both these types of motorway we provide emergency areas at regular intervals, which offer a place to stop in an emergency if you can't exit the motorway or stop at a motorway service area. These have orange surfacing, are set back from the carriageway to provide greater protection, and have an emergency phone which connects directly to our regional operations centres.
If you get into trouble on a motorway, most vehicles can be driven to an emergency area.
Signals and speed limits
There are also overhead electronic signals on these sections, which allow us to provide better information to motorists, display variable speed limits to manage the traffic flow, and close lanes in case of a breakdown or other hazard. In areas with a dynamic hard shoulder we use these signals to open the hard shoulder to drivers at busy times of day, and this helps to avoid congestion and keep the traffic moving.
When all the over-lane gantry signals are blank or 'off', this means that we have not opened the hard shoulder and it remains closed to vehicles (except in an emergency). If you drive on the hard shoulder when it has not been opened for use then you're breaking the law.
When the hard shoulder is open for use, the signal immediately above it will be showing a speed limit of 60mph or less.
Variable speed limits displayed within a red circle are compulsory. If you exceed the limit displayed, this may be detected by speed cameras for enforcement by the police, and you could receive a fine and penalty points on your driving licence.
Use of Red X
When we need to close the hard shoulder to traffic, the overhead signal will first show an arrow directing you to move right from the hard shoulder into the adjacent running lane.
Once traffic has had time to move safely out of the hard shoulder, you will see a Red X above the hard shoulder, which indicates that it's closed to traffic and for emergency use only. The Red X is also shown when the hard shoulder has not been opened, but we need to display reduced speed limits in the other lanes.
If you ignore a Red X or a blank signal by driving in the hard shoulder, you're breaking the law and endangering both yourself and others. Because of the significant safety risk posed by misuse of the hard shoulder, agreements with our police partners now include enhanced detection of non-compliance on dynamic hard shoulders.
A Red X can also be used to close any lane in the event of an obstruction or incident ahead; see our Red X page for more details.
Misuse of the hard shoulder
Hard shoulder misuse means:
- driving on a hard shoulder when the overhead signals are blank, and the road is operating as a conventional motorway with a hard shoulder for emergency use only
- driving on a hard shoulder which is not open to traffic when variable speed limits are in use, as indicated by a Red X above the hard shoulder.
If you misuse the hard shoulder, the police may:
- send you a warning letter informing you of their detection of your offence
- issue you with a fine and penalty points on your driving licence.
Please note that National Highways does not process the personal data of offenders and is not a law enforcement authority. Any evidence of non-compliant use of the hard shoulder on our motorways is collected and processed by the police.
Further information about how and when National Highways processes personal data can be found on our Privacy Notice.
