'Congestion Use Hardshoulder'

I mean, obviously you have to stop in such circumstances. But isn't these exactly the sort of thing that could cause a major incident on a motorway? All because the hard shoulder is not available

*isn't this, not these

The only thing you could do in those circumstances is hazards on and walk away from the car up the embankment . Call the police if you have a phone but I'm sure you'd soon be spotted on CCTV. Then hope that the other traffic is paying attention. Hopefully those watching the CCTV would be able to put instructions up on the information boards to direct the traffic away from the danger.

Trouble is if you have a sudden emergency in the inside lane and can't actually get across to the so called hard shoulder because of the volume of traffic using it, you'd be forced to stop in the inside lane - and get out of the car into that mayhem? In the dark maybe? I've never rally understood why the decision to use the hard shoulder in this way was ever taken.

yes, I find it worrying too, but it is usually only done in areas of high congestion during rush hours when traffic is moving slowly anyway or when there are accidents. As I understand, when hard shoulders are in use the police keep a close eye on the cameras and have breakdown lorries on standby.

Whether the hard shoulder is in use or not cars breakdown in the middle and outside lanes and are unable to get onto the hard shoulder because of the press of traffic, which is not that different to breaking down in the inside lane when the hard shoulder is in use.

As I understand, when hard shoulders are in use the police keep a close eye on the cameras and have breakdown lorries on standby. Yes that would make sense.

And I agree with you about it being equally problematic if you break down in other lanes. I was extremely lucky some years ago when I had a tyre blow while driving in the outside lane of the M5. Thankfully the particular stretch of motorway I was on had only very light traffic that morning and I had no problem limping across all the lanes to reach the hard shoulder, hazard lights flashing away. It was unnerving, though, and I have often wondered how I would have fared if I'd been in heavy traffic when it happened

A dreadful accident occurred last summer on the M1 just north of where it is joined by the M 25 when a minicab taking 3 young men home from a 21st birthday night out in London had pulled over on to the hard shoulder , quite possibly one of the lads being sick, but I am guessing, and a coach ploughed straight into them, seriously injuring 2 of the lads and the driver and killing the third. I used to teach these boys so it was close to home as it were. I can only put it down to a momentary lapse of concentration and confusion by the coach driver, not helped by the fact that many stretches of the M25 have this system of having turned the hard shoulder into a fourth lane.
What you could do in an emergency if you couldn't limp on to one of the refuge areas, I cannot imagine.

The hsrd shoulder is a very dangerous place to be - get everybody out of the vehicle and away up the grass bank.

And do we all carry Hi-Viz tabards and/or jackets to wear when we need to be out there being helpful?

Lorry drivers can be particularly hazardous drivers in regard to the hard shoulder, especially early in the morning. At one point DH used to have to be out and on the motorway by 6.00am and he said the way lorries were driven first thing in the morning terrified him, wandering between lanes and all over the hard shoulder. He deduced tha many lorry drivers spent the night sleeping in their cabs offer the motorway and came on as soon as they had half-woken, heading for the nearest service station for showers, shaves and coffee and a proper wake-up.