January 2009

'Jam-buster' jury still out

The jury’s still out on the Government’s latest traffic jam-busting plans for Britain’s motorway network, according to a new survey.

Trials on selected motorways to use the hard shoulder as an extra lane to help ease peak time congestion have split motorists’ opinions right down the middle.

In a new nationwide survey by breakdown service Autonational Rescue, 33% of motorists thought the idea in the wake of successful trials was a good one, compared with 25% who said it was bad.

Meanwhile some motorists went further and 18% thought it was a “very bad idea” compared with just nine per cent who thought it a “very good one”.

So the absolute net result was that 44% per cent of UK motorists think using the hard shoulder as an extra lane is bad compared with 42% who think it’s a good jam-busting plan.

Said Autonational’s marketing manager Ronan Hart: “This means that - as far as Britain’s motorists are concerned - the jury is still very much out on the idea of using the motorway hard shoulder to help ease traffic jams, even though the Government seems to be pressing ahead.”

At the time the experiment began in 2007, the then Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said using the hard shoulder during busy periods would help cut journey times, car emissions and fuel consumption.

And the first trial on an 11 mile stretch of the M42 near Birmingham did show that weekday journey times could be improved by as much as 27 per cent.

But safety groups were concerned that it could simply block up all the motorway lanes and prevent the emergency services getting through to accidents.

Added Ronan: “Without doubt, the hard shoulder of the motorway is a dangerous place.

“Usually it is reserved for cars and other vehicles which have broken down or who either stopped because it’s an emergency or have been asked to do so by the police.

“But if all the motorway lanes are in use to ease congestion, it’s very hard to know what motorists can do if they really need to stop.”

If your vehicle does breakdown, and there is no available hard shoulder, Autonational Rescue says you should stop as far over to the left as possible and switch on your vehicle’s hazard warning lights.

Leave the car if it is safe to do so, ideally by the passenger side door, then call for help using an emergency motorway phone.

The survey was carried out by TNS Consumer Omnibus.

Autonational Rescue is the car breakdown service with the no claims bonus, for more information visit www.autonational.co.uk or call 08459 100 345.

Ends

Issued by: CPR Works Ltd
Contact: Roger Eversley/Jenny Carr
Tel: 01902 680068
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