Did you know the average time before a car is hit by another vehicle is 11 minutes when stopped on the hard shoulder?
This information has been provided by the Highway Agency, and it is a shocking statistic, what we aim to do with the information provided by the Highway Agency is ensure as few cars as possible end up on the hard shoulder. However, as we all know, it is sometimes inevitable, so we’ll give you some guidance on what to do if you do end up on the hard shoulder. Here’s some of the main reasons people end up on the hard shoulder…
Tyre Damage and blow outs
You need to check your vehicles tyre tread regularly and before long journeys. From time to time debris on the road can cause a blowout, and it is sometimes inevitable, but you should always make sure your car is in the best condition possible, and this includes checking your tyres.
Run out of Fuel
Surprisingly one of the biggest reason people end up on the side of a motorway, plan your journey so that this doesn’t happen!
Breakdowns inc Clutch damage, timing belt snapped
You know something’s not right in your car when you start driving. If your car feels different or is making an odd sound chances are something’s not right. Best to get it checked out before any long journeys.
Car collision resulting in damaging your car’s exterior
As with all accidents some of them are inevitable, but maintain your distances and drive at a sensible speed to ensure this isn’t you on the side of the motorway.
Here’s a link to an article of the Top 10 most ridiculous reasons people have stopped on the hard shoulder
If you have to stop
If you have a serious problem and need to stop, pull into the hard shoulder as close to the barrier as possible. Immediately get out of your vehicle and stand behind the barrier. Whatever happens, do not get back into your car, the chances of your vehicle getting hit by the passing traffic is very high in this situation and it whatever the reason for you wanting to get back into your vehicle, it’s not worth your life.
Walk down to the SOS phone, which will connect you to the Highway Agency and will be able to get help to you. They know where you are from the phone you are calling from, so it’s really important that you use the roadside phones to contact them. They will then advise you of the best course of action, usually in the event of a breakdown they will help you get in touch with your breakdown cover provider and organise for them to get to you.
If you don’t have breakdown cover, they will organise recovery for you, but this can be quite expensive. If you want to find out more about being safe on the roads this winter why not check out the Highway Agency’s Winter page
