07 March 2008
Drivers will be allowed to use the hard shoulder on busy motorways to ease congestion, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly has announced.
Kelly said the scheme, which has already been trialled successfully on the M42 near Birmingham, would be extended to parts of the M1, M6, M62, M27, M4 and M5.
The Birmingham trial gave road users permission to use the hard shoulder as an extra lane at a maximum speed of 50mph.
Announcing the scheme on March 4, Kelly said: 'Through a mix of managing speeds and opening the hard shoulder as a running lane, the M42 has shown it is possible to smooth traffic flow and improve journey reliability on a notoriously congested route – and it has done so safely.'
A Department for Transport feasibility study has identified approximately 500 miles of English motorways which could benefit from using the hard shoulder as an extra lane.
In the trial scheme, sensors were used to detect a build-up of traffic, which in turn triggered signs telling drivers to slow down and use the extra lane. If accidents occured, messages appeared telling drivers the lane was closed, allowing emergency services to use the hard shoulder.
Kelly said: 'It provides compelling evidence for developing the concept more broadly.'
She also announced a further four years' funding for local road-pricing pilot schemes, seen as a possible precursor to a future national road-pricing scheme.
However, Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker described the measure as a 'dog's dinner of a policy'. He added: 'A national road-pricing scheme to replace other road taxes is undoubtedly the way forward, but this latest fudge… will please nobody.'
PFmar2008
