M42 between m6 & a45 southbound
Variable speed limit down to 40…overhead signs flashing “Caution! Stranded vehicle ahead!”
Can just see in the far distance a Womble Wagon and lots of cones, flashing beacons etc…
So…I’m expecting to see a broken down vehicle in one of the live lanes…but no…it is stranded…ON THE ■■■■■■■ HARD SHOULDER!
And the Wombles have actually coned off the hard shoulder!
Why the ■■■■ did a broken down vehicle, in the correct place on the hard shoulder which exists for just such an eventuality exactly where you expect to see a stranded vehicle, need the speed limit lowering, warning messages and the hard shoulder coned off?
Because somebody needs to please think of the children 
Maybe the hard shoulder was a live ‘running’ lane at that particular time and location…
How long did you say you’ve been driving in this country ?..
Possibly so no zb idiot decides to fly down the hard shoulder to get on quicker. Have you ever broke down, because speaking from personal experience its not nice. When you have a blow out on the offside try asking the tyre fitter to change it when vehicles fly past you god some people have no patience.
Possibly about to extend the cones into the inside lanes for an offside wheel change.
The hard shoulder was not in use as a live lane at that time.
Having worked in recovery, I know exactly how dangerous the hard shoulder can be…
However that does not change the ridiculousness of the response…it’s the hard shoulder…no one would be caught unawares by a ‘stranded’ vehicle on the hard shoulder…
Can we expect this level of cotton wool to be applied for every ‘stranded’ vehicle in the future?
Maybe an offside tyre about to be changed, and they were about to kick the cones out & close lane 1? I’ve seen that many times and I must admit if I was a tyre jockey I wouldn’t want to be changing a wheel 2ft from a live carriageway!
DonutUK:
The hard shoulder was not in use as a live lane at that time.
Having worked in recovery, I know exactly how dangerous the hard shoulder can be…
However that does not change the ridiculousness of the response…it’s the hard shoulder…no one would be caught unawares by a ‘stranded’ vehicle on the hard shoulder…
Can we expect this level of cotton wool to be applied for every ‘stranded’ vehicle in the future?
i take it you have never seen the ■■■■■■■ idiots driving down the hard shoulder when it is NOT a live lane then 
they seem to think that because they have done it once, they can do it all the time, regardless of what the signs say
Where were the driver and/or passengers of said vehicle when you passed ?
My guess is “in the vehicle” because one of them was a disabled wheel chair user like my eldest daughter. She would need a least 3 foot on the offside of the vehicle to get out. Instead the advice given by police would be to stay in the vehicle and wait for Police or HATOs to turn up. They then protect the scene until recovery arrives.
Do you honestly believe HATOs coned it off because they had sod all better to do?
Born Idle:
Maybe an offside tyre about to be changed, and they were about to kick the cones out & close lane 1? I’ve seen that many times and I must admit if I was a tyre jockey I wouldn’t want to be changing a wheel 2ft from a live carriageway!
definately not ,especially considering how hard it seems to keep some HGVs in a straight line ,some of those double deckers are all over the road
If your talking about a white xf with a black trailer on,when I came past around 12:30 it was having the n/s/f tyre replaced 
When did all these “macho” buzzwords like “live lane” and “live loading” come into vogue? They make me cringe, are there dead lanes I don’t know about? What is so different about loading a trailer that’s coupled from loading one that’s uncoupled, that it needs a stupid management-speak term to accomplish it?
Why are we all starting to speak in a language that’s starting to sound like Police Register? Is authoritarianism that engrained into everyday life now, that we’re all trying to be part of it? I can say this word so I must have some authority over those that can’t or don’t use it, I’ve got a hi-viz so i must mean something to someone, I’ve got a clean hard hat so I’m superior to someone who has a dirty one.
WTF?
Scanner:
When did all these “macho” buzzwords like “live lane” and “live loading” come into vogue? They make me cringe, are there dead lanes I don’t know about? What is so different about loading a trailer that’s coupled from loading one that’s uncoupled, that it needs a stupid management-speak term to accomplish it?
Why are we all starting to speak in a language that’s starting to sound like Police Register? Is authoritarianism that engrained into everyday life now, that we’re all trying to be part of it? I can say this word so I must have some authority over those that can’t or don’t use it, I’ve got a hi-viz so i must mean something to someone, I’ve got a clean hard hat so I’m superior to someone who has a dirty one.
WTF?
So ■■■■■■ true and right.
Scanner:
When did all these “macho” buzzwords like “live lane” and “live loading” come into vogue? They make me cringe, are there dead lanes I don’t know about? What is so different about loading a trailer that’s coupled from loading one that’s uncoupled, that it needs a stupid management-speak term to accomplish it?
Why are we all starting to speak in a language that’s starting to sound like Police Register? Is authoritarianism that engrained into everyday life now, that we’re all trying to be part of it? I can say this word so I must have some authority over those that can’t or don’t use it, I’ve got a hi-viz so i must mean something to someone, I’ve got a clean hard hat so I’m superior to someone who has a dirty one.
WTF?
Nothing wrong with having a clean helmet ,i polished mine only last night
Scanner:
When did all these “macho” buzzwords like “live lane” and “live loading” come into vogue? They make me cringe, are there dead lanes I don’t know about? What is so different about loading a trailer that’s coupled from loading one that’s uncoupled, that it needs a stupid management-speak term to accomplish it?
Why are we all starting to speak in a language that’s starting to sound like Police Register? Is authoritarianism that engrained into everyday life now, that we’re all trying to be part of it? I can say this word so I must have some authority over those that can’t or don’t use it, I’ve got a hi-viz so i must mean something to someone, I’ve got a clean hard hat so I’m superior to someone who has a dirty one.
WTF?
Bang on the money.
Nowadays almost everyone is terrified of appearing on the radar.
The ability to think for one’s self has almost been eradicated. Read through most of the threads on here for proof. If it isn’t in a risk assessment or instruction manual then the response is similar to a deer in the headlights.
Lemmings…
Perhaps the vehicle had been stranded in the outside lane and had been cleared to the hard shoulder. With traffic stopped whilst it was cleared, the remaining congestion will take a little time to clear, so MIDAS will set speed signals. If the broken down was a vulnerable person, as stated earlier, HATO will stay with the vehicle where possible.
On my section of Managed Motorways, I treat the hard shoulder as a live lane all the time if open or closed.
I can assure everybody, we do not put ourselves at risk for no reason.
extrucker:
Perhaps the vehicle had been stranded in the outside lane and had been cleared to the hard shoulder. With traffic stopped whilst it was cleared, the remaining congestion will take a little time to clear, so MIDAS will set speed signals. If the broken down was a vulnerable person, as stated earlier, HATO will stay with the vehicle where possible.
On my section of Managed Motorways, I treat the hard shoulder as a live lane all the time if open or closed.
I can assure everybody, we do not put ourselves at risk for no reason.
See? See what I mean? 
A good (but not great) example of how this guff is becoming normalised. Are you a human or a bloody robot?
Along with knowing two people who work in the control room in South Mimms, I also know your boss. None of these people feel the need to speak or write like this. Did you get turned down by the traffic warden school or something?
When you’re paid by the hour, instead of salaried on job & knock, the stress levels from being stuck in traffic jams fall away nearly completely…
Being stuck in a jam drops to the level of “mere irritation” from not knowing about it in advance, and taking a route around. 
Have you seen the number of drivers that have no idea how to use managed motorways? even when the H/S is not open, some dozy drivers will still use it. So I would imagine that if the broken down vehicle is in a managed motorway section, H/S open or not, it is treated as if it is.
Note: I cannot confirm that this is the policy, as we don’t have any managed motorway in our region YET! (But it’s coming!!)