73% don't like hard shoulder scheme

Almost three quarters of motorists are against the Government's plans to open up hard shoulders to ease congestion on the motorways.

That's the findings of an exclusive whatcar.com survey, in which 73% said that using hard shoulders to ease congestion was a bad idea.

The majority of respondents - 36% - said that the hard shoulder should be kept clear for the use of the emergency services.

A further 22% said they feared opening the hard shoulder was too dangerous.

Another 15% said the hard shoulder should be kept clear so that broken-down cars do not interfere with traffic flow.

Meanwhile, just 27% expressed favour for the idea, which was given the go-ahead by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly last week.

The scheme is likely to be extended to all motorways around Birmingham in a £150 million development and, if it is a success, be extended across the country.