Talk:Shoulder (road)

question
Can you be caught speeding on the hard shoulder? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

Where does its name come from?
Why is a hard shoulder called a hard shoulder? I understand that hard describes the surface but where does the shoulder part of the name come from? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.139.36.13 (talk) 15:28, 19 March 2007 (UTC).


 * I think "hard shoulder" is chiefly a British term, to distinguish it from a gravel or dirt "soft shoulder." A "hard shoulder" is what Americans usually call a "paved shoulder."  The "shoulders" of many things refer to the edges of them; see definitions 7 & 8 in this dictionary.  NCdave (talk) 15:01, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

Other road users?
Why no discussion of the use of shoudlers by cyclists and horse-drawn vehicles, and by pedestrians in places without sidewalks? --Triskele Jim (talk) 17:37, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

driving on the shoulder in the USA
User Teeraised (who no longer exists) added this sentence to the United States section: "Normally one is not allowed to drive on the shoulder but in the case of traffic block, use of the shoulder is allowed for the purpose of reaching an exit if the exit is with 200 feet."

Does anyone have a reference for this? The practice it describes is common, but I suspect that such an explicit rule, if it really exists, may vary from one State to another. I find no reference to such a rule in NC's statutes. NCdave (talk) 14:49, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

Alternatives
In European countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) emergency vehicles such as ambulances, fire trucks & police cars may use not only the shoulder(s) to bypass traffic congestion. There it is obligatory, to form an emergency corridor Rettungsgasse between the leftmost and the other lanes

The signs shown on the photograph next to the "France" paragraph have nothing to do with the road shoulder. They tell drives in the travel lanes to check the distance between themselves and the vehicle in front of them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:8805:3B00:5A4:F93F:3FF1:FBD:2E5C (talk) 13:53, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
 * It is explained in the text, and refers to the broken white line on the edge of the hard shoulder in the photo. It is fine imho. -Roxy, the PROD. . wooF 07:58, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

Requested move 17 April 2024

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved (non-admin closure)  microbiology Marcus [petri dish·growths] 01:07, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

Shoulder (road) → Hard shoulder – natural disambiguation WP:NATDAB. There is a reason why sidewalk is not titled pavement because that term can also mean the road surface. Similarly, elevator is not titled lift because that also has another meaning. So why isn;t it the case here? Yes the term is British but that doesn't require disambiguation, but shoulder does as that commonly refers to the body part. It is also permitted to switch between English varieties if 'the change reduces ambiguity', as shown at WP:RETAIN. This article has no (strong) ties to any English speaking land and since no ENGVAR is established, if this move is successful, then British English should be established for this article. JuniperChill (talk) 17:39, 17 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Oppose this article isn't and shouldn't be just about 'hard' ie. paved shoulders—blindlynx 18:18, 17 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Oppose. Other countries make a distinction between "hard shoulder" (shoulders paved with asphalt) and "soft shoulder" (those with gravel); this is currently defined in Shoulder (road). Moving the article to "hard shoulder" would actually increase confusion. Zzyzx11 (talk) 20:10, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Oppose, per above, there is nothing that needs fixing here. 162 etc. (talk) 21:12, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
 * In England this is the common term but I have concerns about the scope and if this term is used in other parts of the world.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 21:20, 17 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Does british usage of the term 'hard shoulder' refer to unpaved areas at the side of the road as well? It seem that 'soft shoulder' shows up in uk sources as well—blindlynx 17:46, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
 * No it refers to a small lane on the edge of the motorway or other major road that can usually only be used in an emergency to stop.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 18:27, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
 * As @Crouch, Swale says, no. But I've never come across "soft shoulder" in the UK. Unpaved sides of roads are usually just called "verges"; particularly soft ones may have warning signs against driving onto them on major roads. The only types used for the purposes described in the article's lead are referred to as "hard shoulders"; calling them "shoulders" would likely not be understood. Bazza 7 (talk) 18:55, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
 * The issue is that this article isn't exclusively about paved lanes at the side or roads but also about unpaved ones so 'hard shoulder' would narrow the scope—blindlynx 19:31, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
 * here are a few british uses for the term 'soft shoulder' i've found...hardly rs but still, , —blindlynx 19:34, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
 * @Blindlynx: I realise I have not made clear my view on the proposed move, which I oppose (and have stated so formally below). "Shoulder (road)" as the title, with some alternate names (including "hard shoulder") in the introduction, makes clear what the article is about.
 * On "soft shoulder": there may be a handful of examples of usage, but I have not come across the term in everyday use. Were I to use it in conversation, I would be gently ribbed (2). Bazza 7 (talk) 19:57, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
 * That makes sense it doesn't seem like there are many left in the UK—blindlynx 22:26, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Comment – What about road shoulder? JohnCWiesenthal (talk) 03:54, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
 * Oppose: the current title and lead are fine and make clear what the article is about. Bazza 7 (talk) 19:58, 18 April 2024 (UTC)