More than a hundred motorists have been warned they are at risk of receiving a penalty for breaking a major Highway Code at the weekend.
Drivers are set to be issued fines by Greater Manchester Police Traffic Officers for using the hard shoulder in non-emergency situations.
According to the Highway Code rule 270, drivers “MUST NOT stop on the carriageway, hard shoulder, slip road, central reservation or verge except in an emergency”
The only exception is “when told to do so by the police, traffic officers in uniform, an emergency sign or by flashing red light signals”.
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Drivers can be fined £100 for using the hard shoulder in non-emergency situations
GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE
The penalties were issued after hundreds of drivers were caught by traffic cameras using the hard shoulder over the weekend, which impacted emergency services attendance time to an incident at junction four of the M56.
Furious over the inability to attend an emergency on time, GMP shared on X: “Emergency Services were delayed whilst attending the closure of the M56 at Junction 4 today.
“100+ drivers will be receiving a letter from and unfortunately, it won’t be a Christmas Card. The Hard Shoulder is for emergencies only, not for bypassing the queue.”
Under UK law, it is prohibited to use the hard shoulder unless it is an emergency, failure to do so could result in a £100 fine as well as three penalty points.
But if the driver causes an accident by using the hard shoulder improperly, the penalty is much more severe. Motorists could be charged with careless driving, which could come with a £5,000 fine, up to nine penalty points, or even a driving ban.
Besides an emergency, another exception to driving in the far left lane is if on a smart motorway which does not have hard shoulders.
Instead, the motorways use traffic management methods to increase capacity and reduce congestion in particularly busy areas. However, they have repeatedly been criticised by drivers for being dangerous.
Notably, one of the major roads which operates a smart motorway is the M25, which surrounds London. But experts have warned of the danger these can cause.
Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said: “There is a real irony when it comes to talking about cost pressures in relation to these distinctly unpopular types of motorway.
“While heralded as a cost-effective way of increasing capacity on some of our busier roads, a colossal amount of public money has since gone into trying to make them safer – for instance by installing radar-based technology to detect stricken vehicles more quickly, plus the creation of additional emergency refuge areas.
“The ultimate question remains: will the motoring public ever be entirely comfortable driving on the 200-plus miles of motorway where the hard shoulder has been permanently removed?”
He added that the hard shoulder is “by no means a safe location”, but in the event of a breakdown, it is “far safer” than being on the main lane of a busy motorway.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Campaigns to remove smart motorways have been growing over the years, with one group, Smart Motorways Kill amassing huge public support.
The campaign was spearheaded by Claire Mercer who lost her husband Jason on a smart motorway and has been campaigning to honour him ever since.
