'Hard shoulder running' scheme to be extended
Date: 25 October 2007
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The government is set to announce that 'hard shoulder running' will be rolled out to more UK motorways, which will cut delivery times for couriers and other freight haulage firms.
Transport secretary Ruth Kelly will announce that a trial on a stretch of the M42, in which vehicles were allowed to drive in the hard shoulder during peak times, has helped to cut congestion without raising safety concerns.
The scheme is a cheap alternative to building new motorway lanes and will now probably be rolled out to parts of the M1, M5 and M6, bringing obvious benefits to courier drivers using these roads.
A system of sensors tells the Highways Agency when congestion is building up, and then screens on gantries tell drivers when they can use the hard shoulder.
However, groups such as road safety charity Brake are concerned that emergency services may have problems reaching crash sites.
The group's Cathy Keeler asked the Times: "In the event of all lanes, including the hard shoulder, being blocked, how will they get through?"
A lower speed limit of 50mph for all lanes (enforced by cameras) could prevent problems arising.
Stephen Kelly of the Freight Transport Association welcomed the idea of hard shoulder running, telling RoadTransport.com: "The sooner this is rolled out to other congested bottlenecks, the better. It makes common sense."
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