What is the definition of a "Road Shoulder"?
A “Road Shoulder”, which often serves as an emergency stopping lane, is a reserved lane by the verge of a road or motorway, on the right side of the road. Typically the shoulder is not for use by moving traffic.
Shoulders have multiple uses, including: 1) In the event of an emergency or breakdown, a motorist can pull into the shoulder to get out of the flow of traffic and obtain a greater degree of safety; 2) emergenc vehicles, such as ambulances and police cars, may use the shoulder to bypass traffic congestion; 3) active traffic management, used on busy multi-lane roads, may allow 'hard shoulder running' by general traffic at reduced speeds during periods of high traffic volumes; 4) paved shoulders provide additional space should a motorist need to take evasive action (such as avoiding a wrong-way driver or need to recover control of their vehicle before a run-off road collision occurs; and 5) in some urban areas, shoulders are used as travel lanes during peak commuting hours.