subject: Safety guide for motorists on the motorway [print this page] Safety guide for motorists on the motorway
Safety guide for motorists on the motorway
Use of the hard shoulder
The hard shoulder is a hazardous place, and any motorway Patrol Officer will assure you it ought to be treated with a lot of respect.
The breakdown recovery organization Green Flag has an excellent website good advice for drivers and this has an excellent part on utilising the hard shoulder safely. You'll be able to download all helpful info from the web site.
Use of the Hard Shoulder
Green Flag mentions some crucial facts associating to motorway hard shoulders
You can only use the hard shoulder:
In an emergency.
If your vehicle breaks down.
If you're ordered to do so by the Police.
You commit an offence if you use it for any other purposes.
It is not the place to stop to study a map, eat a chocolate or call someone, and if a Police patrol catches you using the hard shoulder, they'll stop to see what the problem is. If you have not broken down, or it is not an emergency you are able to await a fixed penalty ticket fine of 30.
What to do if you have an emergency
So if you have an emergency or you do break down on a motorway, how should you stay safe?
First of all, attempt to stop as close to an emergency phone or a marker post as you are able to. Marker posts are located every 100 meters, adjacent to the metal barrier. They show two important pieces of info:
The first is the diagram of a telephone handset and an arrow. That's the way of the closest emergency telephone. As the phones are located about a mile, or 1500 metres, apart you're never more than half a mile from the closest one.
The second is the marker post's unique identifying reference, commonly a letter accompanied by three or four numbers. This will let the Police or the motorway patrol officer cgbfgsknows where your exact position is.
Getting Help
In an Emergency situation
If it's a emergency situation, call "999" or "112", either number will put you directly through to a emergency operator who will link you to the suitable emergency service. If you've got the marker post number, use that, but do not concern if you do not feel you have time to get that data as establishing your estimate position (A1M southbound coming up to the Lister Hospital) is all the emergency services ask to discover you. keep your distance from the vehicle in a safe place until the Police, Fire Service or Ambulance arrive.
