Please note that the OFFICIAL ADVICE is to get out of your vehicle ASAP once it has stopped on the hard shoulder (via the passenger / nearside door) GET BEHIND THE CRASH BARRIER and STAY A GOOD 20M AWAY from your vehicle. This should ensure that (1) you are not going to be hit by vehicles, or indeed (2) debris from any hard shoulder collision.rhyds wrote: ↑Fri Apr 10, 2020 09:28Its stories like this that have made me decide that, HS or not, if my car develops an issue (puncture etc) I'm carrying on as quickly/safely as possible to a junction, ERA or other "safer" area than the HS, even at the risk of further damage to my car. It only takes one unaware driver to wander from L1 across the line to cause, as you describe, life changing injuries.Piatkow wrote: ↑Fri Apr 10, 2020 08:39I agree about the hard shoulder giving a false sense of security. A friend of mine suffered life changing injuries after his car was rear ended on the HS while he had his head under the bonnet trying to fix a problem himself.Chris5156 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 10, 2020 05:13
Indeed. But equally, the flip side of that coin is never engaged with either: namely, that a large percentage of all vehicles stopped on the hard shoulder are not stopped for emergencies, they are stopped for phone calls or toilet trips in the undergrowth or to get something out of the boot, and the drivers making those non-emergency stops are putting themselves in huge danger because they incorrectly perceive that there is somewhere safe for them to pull over. Accidents happen in significant numbers that would be entirely avoided if those vehicles were not stopped and their drivers had found some safer place to stop off the motorway.
Removing the hard shoulder removes the temptation. Does the absence of all those vehicles unnecessarily and dangerously stopped on a live motorway provide a safety improvement, compared to a world where people are routinely trying to change tyres or getting toddlers out of the car for a wee next to a 70mph live lane?
You should NOT attempt ANY REPAIRS to your vehicle, however minor while it is on the hard shoulder - only professional recovery personnel should be doing that (if they believe it is safe to do so) as they will place their recover truck with (its many hazard lights) behind yours to draw attention to the situation and hopefully make passing drivers concentrate on keeping out of the HS.