Unlike motorways in many European countries, British motorways were built with hard shoulders for use in a breakdown or emergency. The proposal to use the hard shoulders to relieve congestion during peak traffic hours should not be adopted. It would be inconvenient for emergency services because when the hard shoulders are in use, it would be difficult for emergency vehicles to reach an accident. Nor would it be likely to significantly reduce congestion because it would be difficult to remove obstructions caused by broken down vehicles, and in any case the volume of traffic is increasing massively each year. But the most important reason is that we should seek to maintain Britain's relatively good record of safety on motorways. Other ways of relieving congestion must be sought.