I would love to know your thoughts on this plan to use the hard-shoulder as another lane, they have apparently already been putting this into practice in the Midlands? I caught this subject briefly on the news so I can’t quite get my head round it 
they said coming soon to M25, what happens if your using it as descibed driving along , then someone is using it for its original purpose and are stationary and the selfish *$%^&! in the lane next to you will not give way and let you out as normal as they are alright jack! Excuse the pun but is this not a car crash waiting to happen? 
Where’s jonny foreigner gonna park if they do put it into practice? There was loads of them parked on Reigate hill earlier after an accident.
Also there’s some bridge supports on that section that cut out the hard shoulder, gonna be abit dodgy avoiding them I think.
Why don’t they just make motorways commercial use only and make the tourists take the A roads, that’ll sort the congestion.
The system is very well monitored - 100% CCTV coverage, emergency refuge areas (large laybys) for vehicles to use if broken down whilst the hardshoulder is being used as a running lane, sensors built into the road surface that alert control room staff as soon as a vehicle stops on the hardshoulder or a refuge area.
Should a vehicle stop on the hardshoulder whilst it is being used as a running lane, signals will be adjusted very quickly to show the hardshoulder as closed to all traffic, and the motorway will revert back to ‘normal’ operation, with traffic using only the lanes that would conventionally be used.
The system is currently in operation on the M42 in the West Midlands, and has been proposed for several other sites around England… including parts of the M25.
Works well in various places around Europe so can’t see why it shouldn’t work here.
I think it work very well on the M42,
I find it works very well on the 42. You actually find that when the matrix says h/s closed and the big red x flashes it tends to be the only motorway sign that people actually obey.
This has been mooted in the past and I think the problem then was the hard shoulder was not built to the same standard as the rest of the motorway,so would not stand up to the constant traffic.Maybe they`ve been upgrading them with an extra 1/2" of bottoming. 
Hiya …they,ve just been upgradeing the M6 southbound from JCT19 down past 16, i don,t go south of there very often
so i cant say about further down.but i have,nt noticed any layby type areas like on the M42.when i lived nr JCT 18
11 years ago, i know they was pushing for a 4th lane southbound but it did,nt go ahead.
John
M1 J25 - J26 has recently had a 4th lane added. The lanes are narrower than normal and there is a bit of a hard shoulder in places so not quite the same as the M42 pilot scheme.
On the M42 which I use quite often, the HSL (hard shoulder lane) doesn’t continue through junctions so isn’t used much by through traffic. The HSL is only used at busy times and the variable speed limit is reduced to 50 or less when it is used as a running lane. When something stops on the HSL it affects all the lanes as everyone slows to cope with the blockage. This is detected by the sensors and the overhead signs change to drop the speed limit further and close off the HSL.
Traffic being slowed to 50 does seem to help keep it moving. Before the scheme was introduced it was crazy and scary with 70+ traffic suddenly stopping for no apparent reason and then just as suddenly zooming off again. Rinse & repeat…
Thanx for your replies, sounds like its old news and is working 
I still have some scepticism maybe I’m a bit old skool or just have little faith in some of the idiots that I see driving? but I spose that adding another lane could either way increase/decrease the likelyhood of more accidents, Oh now you’ve got me Its far too early and I’m now having an pros/cons debate in my own head LOL.x
It works very well. It’s not that long ago that the M42 was just as much of a “no go area” as the M6 at peak hours; it’s usable with minimal delays now.
People do complain about the speed limit going up and down for no obvious reaon, but they seem to have missed the point. The fact that you can’t see the problem means that the system is solving them as it should. That’s the whole point. Ok, it can get a bit doolally late on when there are odd 20mph limits for roadworks that aren’t there, but hey, nothing’s perfect, and it’s certainly better than the carpark it was before.
I have tried to find a video which shows the
Bundes Autobahn A5 by Frankfurt–Bad Homberg
but had no Luck
As many who run to Germany know ;IT is one of those
roads which allow the use of the Hard-shoulder
the system allows the traffic to flow when
the road is over stretched due to the huge amount
of vehicles using it ,If this helps reduce traffic jams
and allows traffic to flow better, then it is a well
worth while idea which should be used more in the UK:
I like it on the M42 when all the cars stay on the main carraigeway shuffling along at 30MPH, and the hard shoulder is in use but they are afraid of it. i can keep to 50 or what ever the signs says and sail along past them all!
truckerjon:
I like it on the M42 when all the cars stay on the main carraigeway shuffling along at 30MPH, and the hard shoulder is in use but they are afraid of it. i can keep to 50 or what ever the signs says and sail along past them all!
Is’nt that called undercutting tut tut! thats what I mean by the idiots it really gets my goat when they sit in the middle lane plodding when the inside?(left-hand lane) is empty and the fast lane is ocupied with maniacs with more powerful engines than mine!
I look forward to trying it out (HSL) as I don’t want truckerjon to do anything illegal as a result of my inadequacies 
SamIam:
…it really gets my goat when they sit in the middle lane plodding when the inside?(left-hand lane) is empty and the fast lane is ocupied with maniacs with more powerful engines than mine!..
It really gets my goat when people call it the fast lane when actually, unless indicated otherwise, all the lanes have the same speed limit. 
SamIam:
truckerjon:
I like it on the M42 when all the cars stay on the main carraigeway shuffling along at 30MPH, and the hard shoulder is in use but they are afraid of it. i can keep to 50 or what ever the signs says and sail along past them all!Is’nt that called undercutting tut tut! thats what I mean by the idiots it really gets my goat when they sit in the middle lane plodding when the inside?(left-hand lane) is empty and the fast lane is ocupied with maniacs with more powerful engines than mine!
I look forward to trying it out (HSL) as I don’t want truckerjon to do anything illegal as a result of my inadequacies
Highway code rule 163:
“stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. if the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left.”
As has already been said the system of using the hard shoulder when there is congestion works well on the M42.
truckerjon:
SamIam:
truckerjon:
I like it on the M42 when all the cars stay on the main carraigeway shuffling along at 30MPH, and the hard shoulder is in use but they are afraid of it. i can keep to 50 or what ever the signs says and sail along past them all!Is’nt that called undercutting tut tut! thats what I mean by the idiots it really gets my goat when they sit in the middle lane plodding when the inside?(left-hand lane) is empty and the fast lane is ocupied with maniacs with more powerful engines than mine!
I look forward to trying it out (HSL) as I don’t want truckerjon to do anything illegal as a result of my inadequaciesHighway code rule 163:
“stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. if the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left.”
Coffeeholic:
SamIam:
…it really gets my goat when they sit in the middle lane plodding when the inside?(left-hand lane) is empty and the fast lane is ocupied with maniacs with more powerful engines than mine!..It really gets my goat when people call it the fast lane when actually, unless indicated otherwise, all the lanes have the same speed limit.
I generally don’t like admitting to anything as I love a debate but I gracefully accept that I stand corrected! I’m not sure I’d like to quote the highway code rule 163 to a police officer if I was caught in the act but information in my books is great as now I can say “I know” 
with regards to calling lanes incorrect terminology sometimes you just can’t teach a O’l dog new tricks so I’ll make sure I keep plenty of goat grub to placate Coffeeholic with so I say Sorry up front! as I’ll probably keep saying the wrong thing its what I do best! I blame my parents
Next they will let us use the bus lane on the M4
Big Jon’s dad:
On the M42 which I use quite often, the HSL (hard shoulder lane) doesn’t continue through junctions so isn’t used much by through traffic. The HSL is only used at busy times and the variable speed limit is reduced to 50 or less when it is used as a running lane. When something stops on the HSL it affects all the lanes as everyone slows to cope with the blockage. …
That’s changed now - The speed limit, even with the HS open is often set at 60 and they have through junction running on J4 southbound. It is true that for most of the other junctions the HS becomes just a very long slip road, but that helps a lot to keep the traffic moving and it does stop a lot of the numpties from sticking in L£ to the last minute and cutting across. (though you do still get some)