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FTA approves hard-shoulder running 'in the short term'
Page 12
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Plans for hard-shoulder running have received a thumbs-up from the FTA, but German experiences with the scheme are mixed. Dylan Gray reports.
THE FREIGHT Transport Association (ETA) has come out in favour of Highways Agency (HA) proposals to allow motorists to use motorway hard shoulders at times of heavy congestion.
The HA unveiled its plans last week when it announced the start of a pilot scheme on the M42 in the West Midlands (CM31 August). If successful this will be rolled out across the country. Expense is the driving factor, with the cost of the hard-shoulder scheme being 20% of the potential cost of adding an extra lane to the motorway.
The ETA stresses that it wants more road building to increase capacity, but in the short term it is "all for" the scheme.
Spokesman Geoff Dossetter says: "As far as hard-shoulder running is concerned, we see it as a further element of maximising the road infrastructure we've got.
"This fits into the HA's other ideas such as providing better driver information, improving pinch points and introducing traffic officers."
Dossetter also plays down safety fears: "Its system of monitoring means the agency can react to accidents far more quickly than waiting for the call to the emergency services."
However, Paul Watters, from the AA motoring trust, says: "We're concerned that drivers will develop the habit of using the hard shoulder and fail to notice when it is closed.They may then crash into a vehicle that has been unable to reach a refuge."
Emergency services may also suffer under the scheme, with response times likely to drop.