Has this hard shoulder scheme been a success?

Yes. It has reduced delays, and the number of injuries in crashes has also fallen since it was introduced. An interesting side effect of enforcing a lower speed limit (50mph) has been a reduction of 4 per cent in fuel consumed and 10 per cent in exhaust pollutants.

Is it the answer to motorway congestion?

It will provide some relief but will not eradicate congestion. Adding the extra lane in the 11-mile (18-km) trial reduced southbound delays by only 9 per cent - motorists stuck in slow-moving traffic would hardly have noticed the difference.

What other schemes are there for tackling the traffic problem?

The big issue which the Government is ducking is road pricing. Without some form of charge for driving at peak times, the extra capacity will quickly be absorbed by more traffic.The prospect of sitting in traffic jams does not seem to be enough to make drivers rethink their journeys, perhaps because in-car entertainment and mobile communications are now so good that people are more willing to be stuck in their cars.

Who is for and against the scheme?

Road safety groups argue that emergency services will struggle to reach crash sites if the hard shoulder is removed. Motoring groups are divided in their response - they like the extra capacity but would prefer to see proper motorway widening. The Government is retreating from the latter because its road-building programme is more than £3billion over budget. To an extent, the hard shoulder announcement is a smokescreen for the Government's retreat on motorway widening.

Where next for it - every motorway and A-road?

More of the M42 motorway box around Birmingham will be next, possibly followed by the M6 north of Birmingham as an alternative to widening.

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