Darling to extend motorway pilot scheme

A controversial plan to open up hard shoulders to traffic to ease congestion on some of Britain's busiest roads was last night criticised by motoring groups, who warned it would result in more accidents.

Transport secretary Alistair Darling said a pilot scheme, which is set to start on the M42 in the Midlands next year, could be extended across the country.

But the RAC and AA claimed safety would be jeopardised if hard shoulders were used at busy times of the day to cut jams on major routes, especially around London and in the North-west.

An RAC spokesman said: "Hard shoulders are essential for the safety of broken-down motorists and to allow emergency services prompt access to accidents."

RAC research found that 87 per cent of motorists believed scrapping the hard shoulder would put them at more risk.

The AA said Mr Darling should await the results of the M42 trial before considering expanding the scheme.

Spokeswoman Rebecca Rees said: "There should be a full assessment of the pilot scheme to prove it works before even thinking of rolling it out, and then it should only be as a temporary measure."

Mr Darling conceded in an interview with the Financial Times that road charging schemes would also be extended to manage the use of roads and avoid gridlock.

"But it's not going to happen in the near future," he added.