Hard Shoulder Monitoring

Hard shoulder monitoring is the detection of stopped vehicles, pedestrians, and debris on the hard shoulder or emergency rest area of a motorway.

Road users on the hard shoulder are in a vulnerable position due to fast-flowing traffic. Hard shoulder monitoring means operators can react faster to decrease the likelihood of a secondary incident by setting warning signs and deploying help.

The solution is also used to improve safety and efficiency where a dynamic hard shoulder is in operation. This means that in times of peak traffic flow, the hard shoulder will be opened to traffic to increase capacity. Debris commonly builds up on the hard shoulder from traffic in the adjacent carriageway, and vehicles can be stopped on the hard shoulder. Without automatic hard shoulder monitoring, highway traffic officers must drive the length of the hard shoulder to verify it is clear before the lane can be safely opened.

Radar works in poor visibility when accidents are more likely to happen. This includes incidents related to stopped vehicles and pedestrians on the hard shoulder. Radar works in fog, heavy rain, snow, glare, and in the dark. It is in these conditions that other technologies start to fail, while radar continues to work at the most critical times.