Road-side shoulders: for emergencies only

By: Drivers.com staff
Date: 2001-07-23

Leave the first comment

Drivers have a key role to play in reducing death and injury, both to themselves and to those who attend them in any kind of road-side emergency. RAC Motoring Services in the U.K. says that roadway shoulders are for emergency use only and drivers should only stop there if it is a real emergency and have no other choice. Thousands of people die each year in these situations. Don't stop to:

• Go to the toilet
• Use a mobile telephone
• Check a route or map
• Do anything else that can wait until you are in a safe place

If an emergency forces you to stop, then:

• Use the hard shoulder as a deceleration lane
• Watch out for debris on the hard shoulder that could damage your vehicle
• Pull over to the left as far as you can and turn your front wheels towards the nearside verge
• Turn on your hazard lights
• Unless you have a disability that prevents this, you and any occupants should leave the vehicle via the passenger doors and move far away from the traffic.
• Don't attempt to repair your vehicle on a hard shoulder. It is highly dangerous, particularly on the side nearest the traffic. Use a road-side telephone to get professional help.

Login or sign up to receive email notification
when a comment is added to this thread.

NOTE - You can cancel at any time, and we have a strict privacy policy which forbids us from sharing your email address or other information with any third party.