Plans for hard shoulder driving

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The scheme is set to be adopted following a trial on the M42 near Birmingham, where the hard shoulder was used as an extra lane, and the speed limit reduced to 50mph, when traffic levels built up.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said the scheme will be extended to a number of motorways in England, including the M1, M6, M62, M27, M4, M5 and motorways which feed into the M25 such as the M20 and M3.

The minister also announced that she is looking at options such as having a motorway lane which cannot be used by cars with only person inside.

The idea of a "car share" lane has been successfully introduced in other countries, said the Department for Transport.

Another idea is to charge drivers who have no passengers to use these lanes, although officials stressed that no decisions have been taken.

David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Capacity problems across the UK's road network have created serious difficulties for businesses reliant on the roads to transport and receive goods.

"Opening up the hard shoulder is an innovative way in which to immediately help reduce congestion. However, much more still needs to be done to address the wider issue of a lack of capacity across all of the UK's transport infrastructure.

"Unless further investment is put into increasing capacity, the country will simply grind to a halt."

Hard shoulder driving is well established in some European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands.