In danger
24% of drivers have risked their life unnecessarily by non-emergency use of hard shoulder
With millions of drivers expected to hit the road next Easter weekend, AA research has shown that around a quarter of them have potentially endangered their lives by stopping on the hard shoulder in a non-emergency.
Since 2000, on average 836 people in the UK have been killed or injured each year in incidents on hard shoulders and lay-bys.
An AA-Populus poll of over 18,000 AA members established why people make non-emergency stops on the motorway:
Excuse | Percentage |
Driver or passenger had to go to the loo | 5% |
Driver or passenger was ill e.g. travel sickness | 5% |
Run out of fuel | 4% |
Reading a map | 2% |
Driver needed a rest | 1% |
Non-emergency phone call | 1% |
Problem with a pet or animal being carried | 1% |
Other | 5% |
TOTAL | 24% |
Overall, 56 per cent of respondents have stopped on the motorway hard shoulder at some point, particularly those in North-west England (64%) ahead of South-east England (60%). Just over a third (34%) has had to pull over due to a mechanical breakdown and a further fifth (21%) due to puncture or tyre damage.
Mark Spowage, AA patrol of the year, says: “You should only stop if it is a genuine emergency and have no choice – it really is the last resort. It’s best to try to drive to a safer place off the motorway rather than stopping on the hard shoulder, even in the event of a breakdown. For example, if your car has an amber warning light, it’s fine to continue to the next exit; and, likewise, say you get a puncture or an alert from your car’s tyre pressure monitoring system, it’s better to risk having to shell out for a new tyre than be a sitting duck on the hard shoulder.”