|
A hard shoulder, or simply shoulder, is a reserved area by the verge of a road or motorway. Generally it is kept clear of all traffic. In the event of an emergency or breakdown, a motorist can pull into the hard shoulder to get out of the flow of traffic and obtain an element of safety. A hard shoulder also allows some extra flexibility should a motorist need to take evasive action, as it is a buffer area between the main thoroughfare and the edge of the road. Emergency vehicles such as ambulances and police cars may also use the shoulder to bypass traffic congestion. These uses lead to the alternate names breakdown lane and emergency lane. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Motorway symbol in UK, France and Ireland. ...
Breakdown may refer to: Electrical breakdown Chemical breakdown Biological decomposition Nervous breakdown Societal breakdown A breakdown is a statement explaining the details of something such as a bill or cost of a plan A script breakdown for a play, film, or comic book Breakdown (album), by Melissa Etheridge. ...
An emergency vehicle is any vehicle that responds to an emergency. ...
An ambulance in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico A Helicopter used as an Ambulance. ...
Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor of the United States Federal Protective Service. ...
This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
General characteristics The shoulder is usually slightly narrower than a full traffic lane. In some cases, particularly on old rural roadways, shoulders do not exist or are made of gravel rather than hard asphalt or concrete. These are known as soft shoulders in comparison. Because the road surface changes at that point, they are less safe if they need to be used for emergency maneuvers, so modern practice is to build a hard shoulder whenever possible. To save money, the hard shoulder is sometimes not paved to the same thickness as the through lanes, so if vehicles were to attempt to use it as a through lane regularly, it would rapidly deteriorate. The shoulder also often collects various bits of debris that can make driving there unsafe. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 1354 KB) N11 south of Newtownmountkennedy, May 2005 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 1354 KB) N11 south of Newtownmountkennedy, May 2005 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...
A motorway (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, and some Commonwealth nations) is both a type of road and a classification. ...
This early German Autobahn uses a dual carriageway design. ...
The N11 is a National Primary Route in Ireland, running along the east side of Ireland from Dublin to Wexford. ...
Nighttime traffic captured by a camera over several seconds. ...
The word lane has two meanings: a portion of a paved roadway which is intended for a single line of vehicles and is marked by white or yellow lines. ...
Gravel being unloaded from a barge Gravel is rock that is of a certain grain size range. ...
Base layer of asphalt concrete in a road under construction. ...
Concrete being poured, raked and vibrated into place in residential construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...
Drivers will sometimes drift into the shoulder when being overtaken by passing vehicles, particularly on two-lane roads. However, it is extremely unsafe, as well as often illegal, to abuse the hard shoulder by 'undertaking' passing vehicles that are nearer the centre of the road. (Some roads and expressways have a hard shoulder that is of such a narrow width that 'undertaking' is impossible.) In some jurisdictions in the United States and Canada, buses are allowed to drive on the shoulder to pass traffic jams, which is called a bus-only shoulder or bus-bypass shoulder; the term "bus-only shoulder lane" is incorrect from a technical and legal standpoint [1]. In Ontario, Highway 403 had its shoulders between Hurontario Street and Erin Mills Parkway widened in 2003 so they serve a dual-purpose as bus lanes and accident lanes; in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region of Minnesota, over 270 miles of shoulder have been designated for use by busses. [2]. In other cities, the concept has been extended to passenger cars; in the Boston Metro Area, cars are allowed to use the shoulder as they would a normal lane during morning and evening rush hours. An articulated bus operated by the CTA in Chicago, Illinois, USA. A Go North East Bus parked in a lay-by in Tyne and Wear, England A bus is a large road vehicle intended to carry numerous persons in addition to the driver and sometimes a conductor. ...
Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area Ranked 4th...
Highway 403 as part of the 400-series network Highway 403 is a 400-Series Highway in Ontario, Canada that extends 126 km (78. ...
A map of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. ...
Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area Ranked 12th - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 400 miles (645 km) - % water 8. ...
Nickname: Location in Massachusetts, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Suffolk County Government - Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) Area - City 89. ...
On many roads, the shoulder disappears for short periods, particularly near exits and sometimes when going across or under bridges where the cost savings outweigh the disadvantages of not having the shoulder. However, some roads have a narrow shoulder for significant distances. This makes it difficult for large vehicles to pull into the hard shoulder altogether. The Jingjintang Expressway in northeastern China is an example of this phenomenon. Its hard shoulder is 2.4 metres wide, which is not wide enough for some automobiles. As a result, some motorists are unable to fully exit the mainline when they need to pull over, so they end up in a position that is halfway in the rightmost lane and halfway in the hard shoulder. The result is often a traffic jam and occasionally something worse. A log bridge in the French Alps near Vallorcine. ...
Jingjintang Expressway (Beijing segment, taken in July of 2004) Opened in September of 1993, the Jingjintang expressway, also known simply as the Jingtang expressway, links Beijing via central Tianjin to the Tanggu District in eastern Tianjin. ...
Characteristics in various countries
Republic of Ireland
A junction on the M4 motorway, with an unbroken yellow line (that peels away and follows the sliproad) demarcating the hard shoulder. Full-width hard shoulders are provided on most new, upgraded (from the 1980s onwards), and major national roads in the Republic of Ireland, especially on wide two-lane and dual-carriageway roads (the shoulders on most 2+1 roads are narrow however). The road surface is usually different, using reddish coloured surfacing that does not need to withstand heavy traffic volumes. On older roads, simple resurfacings, or short route sections, the surface may be identical to the main road lanes. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ...
The N4 road is a National primary route in the Republic of Ireland, running from Dublin to the northwest of Ireland and Sligo Town. ...
A directional road sign in the Republic of Ireland on an other road (not a national road) at Portlaoise, County Laois, including patches for national roads and advance warning of bridge height restrictions. ...
A super two or super two-lane highway is a two-lane surface road built to high standards, typically including partial control of access, occasional passing lanes and hard shoulders. ...
A typical British Dual carriageway, this one being the A63(T) near Hull A dual carriageway or divided highway is a road or highway in which the two directions of traffic are separated by a central barrier or strip of land, known as a central reservation or median. ...
2+1 road with cable barrier near Linköping, Sweden. ...
The hard shoulder is usually demarcated by road markings in the form of a single dashed yellow line with the addition of yellow cat's eyes. On motorways, and at critical points on other routes (e.g. between junctions or sliproads, or beneath overpasses) a solid yellow line is used, denoting additional restrictions on usage of the hard shoulder. At junctions and sliproads, the yellow line peels away into the turn, with a dashed white line (with green cat's eyes) denoting a lane division following the main route (i.e. in most cases the road remains the same width, and a turn lane takes the place of the hard shoulder). A regular white cats eye of the kind invented by Shaw, marking the middle of the road. ...
High-capacity freeway interchange in Los Angeles, California. ...
In the 2000s, Bus Éireann coaches were allowed use the hard shoulders on national roads into Dublin. However, dedicated bus lanes are now present on sections of some routes, such as the N7 Naas Road, and such use of actual hard shoulder (i.e. demarkated with yellow rather than white dashed line) is not universal. The 2000s are the current decade, spanning from 2000 to 2009. ...
The N7 road is a National Primary Route in the Republic of Ireland, connecting Dublin and Limerick. ...
United States
 The break in the shoulder line used by California to warn of upcoming freeway exits in foggy areas In the USA, the right-hand shoulder is separated by a solid white line, and the left-hand shoulder (if the road is a divided highway) is separated from the main road by a solid yellow line. On freeways in foggy parts of California, there is an obvious break in the line of the shoulder before every exit; this is to help drivers find their exits in heavy fog. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 461 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 576 pixel, file size: 172 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) An example of the break in the paint line marking the hard shoulder that is used on freeways in foggy parts of California to warn motorists...
Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 461 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 576 pixel, file size: 172 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) An example of the break in the paint line marking the hard shoulder that is used on freeways in foggy parts of California to warn motorists...
Divided Highway is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 2003. ...
Interstate 80 (Eastshore Freeway) in Berkeley, a typical American freeway (MUTCD definition) A freeway is a type of highway that is designed for safer high-speed operation of motor vehicles through the elimination of at-grade intersections. ...
Evening fog obscures Londons Tower Bridge from passers by. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ...
United Kingdom Full width hard shoulders are usually provided only on motorways and are usually 3.3 metres wide, but there are exceptions. Some motorways do not have hard shoulders at all (for example the A57(M)) and there are a small number of dual carriageway A-roads which do possess hard shoulders (for example, parts of the A1, A2 and A27). Hard shoulders are always marked with a reflectorised solid white line which is 20 cm wide and is provided with a rumble strip. A line of red cat's eyes is also used, and is placed to the side of the line. Motorway symbol in UK, France and Ireland. ...
The A57(M) motorway in Manchester, known as the Mancunian Way forms the southern part of Manchesters ring road, and runs directly through the centre of the campuses of UMIST (now part of the University of Manchester) and Manchester Metropolitan University. ...
This early German Autobahn uses a dual carriageway design. ...
Sign at Junction 1 of the A1(M) at South Mimms in Hertfordshire The A1 is the longest numbered road in the UK at 409 miles (658 km) long. ...
The A2 is a major road in the United Kingdom, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. ...
The A27 near Southwick The A27 is a major road in England. ...
Rumble strips are strips of painted, ridged road surfaces to warn drivers when they stray from their lanes. ...
A regular white cats eye of the kind invented by Shaw, marking the middle of the road. ...
Sometimes, a hard shoulder will be coloured differently (usually red) to that of the main carriageway lanes. This is sometimes because the hard shoulder has not been resurfaced recently. The red colouring of many shoulders is because red surfacing was cheaper than black when the surface was laid. Sometimes, hard shoulders are coloured red to make it stand out from the main carriageway (for example on many of the motorways in Lancashire.) Lancashire is a county in North West England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ...
On many modern non-motorway roads, a hard strip is provided. These are usually 1 metre wide, and are bounded by thinner solid white lines, and often without a rumble strip.
On 12 September 2006, an experiment began to allow motorists on an 11-mile stretch of the M42 motorway, near Birmingham, to drive on the hard shoulder. Special signage, new laybys and a variable speed limit have been put in place to improve safety[3]. September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ...
For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...
For other uses of the term M42, please see M42. ...
The city from above Centenary Square. ...
A road speed limit is the maximum speed allowed by law for road vehicles. ...
See also |
Feeds |
Contact