Concerns have been raised over the government’s plans to introduce hard-shoulder running – where vehicles are allowed to use motorway hard-shoulders as an extra lane – to more motorways.

A pilot test on the M42 last year found that hard-shoulder running (HSR) improved traffic flow and travel times, while having no detrimental effect on safety.

John Mills, assistant chief fire officer with Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and spokesman for the Chief Fire Officers Association, said: “The hard-shoulder running on the M42 has not caused the fire and rescue service any great difficulties neither is there evidence to suggest that attendance times have been adversely affected.

“The evidence collected to date, indicates that where HSR is used in conjunction with other safety measures such as increased signage, then this can be an effective and safe way of increasing motorway capacity on specific and carefully selected sections of the motorway network.”

As a result, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced a major investment package to make better use of the motorway network. Key to this is hard-shoulder running – a cost effective way of increasing capacity according to the government.

The plan is to open some 500 miles of motorway hard shoulders as extra lanes.

The DfT is planning to introduce HSR looking at the busiest parts of the M1, M25, M6, M62, M3 and M4.

However, there was no major emergency event during the M42 trials so the effectiveness of safety measures such as overhead gantry signs being used to close lanes to allow emergency services quicker access to a crash remain untested.

“The arrangements could possibly increase usual response times,” admitted a DfT spokesman.

The M42 pilot test also did not involve managing traffic using the hard shoulder when it reached an exit or entry ramp.

And it is how to manage the problem of traffic that is not exiting the motorway crossing exit ramps.

“The section of the M42 that already uses the principle of hard shoulder running has a higher than normal level of signage and has an increased level of 24 hour monitoring and supervision in place,” explained Mr Mills.

“The fire and rescue service would be concerned if HSR was implemented without the additional features already having been established.

“One area of HSR that remains a concern is the possibility that the use of hard shoulders for additional running lanes may also run through on and off slips.

"The section of the M42 that uses the hard shoulder as an additional running lane does not currently run through motorways junctions.

“If it were the case that the use of hard shoulders as additional running lanes included running through the on and off slip roads on motorways then the fire and rescue service would need to consider each additional proposal very carefully and base the response on the information and evidence available at that time.”

As a result of the concerns about how to manage the problem of traffic crossing exit and entry ramps, the fire and rescue service is still considering its response to a DfT consultation paper known as the Birmingham Box Active Traffic Management.