Thousands of people suffer from injuries in car accidents in the UK every year. This is due to numerous reasons and knowing how to act when using hard shoulder can help you prevent one of the car accident causes.

A hard shoulder (also known as breakdown lane and emergency lane) is a term used for the area that is reserved on the side of a motorway or a road and is usually kept clear at all times. This is so that in the unfortunate case of breaking down or any other kind of emergency, a driver can pull into the hard shoulder to get out of the traffic flow.  Also, emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and police cars often use the hard shoulder to avoid any traffic congestions. Unfortunately, ‘hard shoulder car accidents’ occur quite frequently, so it is important to remember a few guidelines to keep you safe and avoid a car accident.

Firstly, it is advised that the hard shoulder is to be used ONLY in emergencies and not to pick someone up, check a map or similar.

If you do, however, find yourself in an emergency and you have to use the hard shoulder, turn on your hazard lights and call for assistance immediately. Always remember to use the passenger door to exit your car, so that you are as far away from the traffic flow as possible and are not risking being the cause of a car accident.