A smart motorway is a section of a motorway which uses traffic management methods designed to increase capacity and reduce congestion in particularly busy areas. These methods include using the hard shoulder as a running lane and using variable speed limits to control the flow of traffic. The following tips on how to drive safely and legally on a smart motorway are from Highways England...

When you're driving along a motorway you should keep left unless youre overtaking, no matter how many lanes a motorway has - it's a simple rule of the Highway Code
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A hard shoulder is always identified by a solid white unbroken line - if theres no speed limit displayed above it or a red X is displayed, do not use it except in an emergency
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