The answer options
- The hard shoulder has a 50mph limit
- The hard shoulder can be used as normal
- The hard shoulder can be used to rest
- The hard shoulder is for emergency use onlyCorrect
Why that is the answer
A red X displayed above any lane, including the hard shoulder, indicates that the lane is closed to traffic. Driving in a closed lane is illegal and dangerous. When a red X is shown over the hard shoulder on a smart motorway, it must only be used in an emergency or breakdown. The Highway Code strictly forbids using the hard shoulder for resting or as a normal running lane when it is closed.
How this comes up in the real test
Questions from motorway rules appear throughout the 50-question multiple-choice section, and the wording changes between versions. Learn the rule rather than the sentence: the DVSA can ask the same point from the opposite direction, and a memorised answer falls over the moment the phrasing moves.
The pass mark is 43 out of 50, so seven wrong answers is your entire margin. If a whole category is shaky, run the topic practice below until you are getting every question right for the right reason, then go back to full mocks under the clock.
More motorway rules questions
- Before making a journey on the motorway it is important to check your vehicle fully. Why is this?
- Following a breakdown on the hard shoulder, how should you rejoin the motorway?
- How do smart motorways avoid traffic clustering?
- How should you deal with traffic already on the motorway when joining from a slip road?
- In England and Wales, traffic officers work on motorways as well as some secondary routes. What powers do they have?
- On a motorway, how are the lanes to be used?