The Highways Agency has raised from 50mph to 60mph the speed limit for vehicles using the hard shoulder on one section of the M42. The measure is the latest move in the effort to ease congestion on motorways by allowing vehicles to drive on the hard shoulder. The M42's 'active traffic management' scheme has provided the model for similar proposals across England's motorways.
Since hard-shoulder running began on the M42, it has been monitored
by traffic specialists who have now decided there would be no reduction in road safety with a higher speed limit. Roads Minister Tom Harris says: "Hard-shoulder running has proven to be a powerful congestion-tackling tool and we've announced our intention to develop similar schemes on the M1, M6 and M62.
"Now we're looking for ways to maximise the benefits of these innovative techniques - increasing the speed limit is part of that. We don't want to slow motorists unnecessarily when they could safely be travelling more quickly." The increased speed limit applies to the two-and-a-half-mile southbound stretch of the M42 between Junctions 4 and 3A, with overhead signs displaying the speed limit in force.
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