--- title: "You are travelling on a smart motorway and th… | Theory Test" description: "You are travelling on a smart motorway and the hard shoulder has a red cross above. All other lanes are showing a mandatory speed limit. What does this mean?" lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://fasttrackdrivinglessons.co.uk/#organization", "name": "Fast Track Driving Lessons", "url": "https://fasttrackdrivinglessons.co.uk/", "email": "info@fasttrackdrivinglessons.co.uk", "areaServed": "GB", "description": "Intensive driving courses and driving lessons across the UK with DVSA-approved instructors." }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://fasttrackdrivinglessons.co.uk/#website", "url": "https://fasttrackdrivinglessons.co.uk/", "name": "Fast Track Driving Lessons", "publisher": { "@id": "https://fasttrackdrivinglessons.co.uk/#organization" }, "potentialAction": { "@type": "SearchAction", "target": { "@type": "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate": "https://fasttrackdrivinglessons.co.uk/search?q={search_term_string}" }, "query-input": "required name=search_term_string" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "QAPage", "mainEntity": { "@type": "Question", "name": "You are travelling on a smart motorway and the hard shoulder has a red cross above. All other lanes are showing a mandatory speed limit. What does this mean?", "text": "You are travelling on a smart motorway and the hard shoulder has a red cross above. All other lanes are showing a mandatory speed limit. What does this mean?", "answerCount": 1, "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The hard shoulder is for emergency use only. 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." }, "suggestedAnswer": [ { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The hard shoulder has a 50mph limit" }, { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The hard shoulder can be used as normal" }, { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The hard shoulder can be used to rest" } ] } } ] --- Get an exclusive 15% off - Offer ends next week! 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DVSA-style practice question · Motorway Rules ## 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 only**Correct** ## 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. [Practise Motorway Rules](/theory/quiz/motorway-rules)[Sit a full mock test](/theory/mock-test) ## More motorway rules questions - [Before making a journey on the motorway it is important to check your vehicle fully. Why is this?](/theory/questions/before-making-a-journey-on-the-motorway-it-is-important-to-check-your-vehicle-fully-why-is) - [Following a breakdown on the hard shoulder, how should you rejoin the motorway?](/theory/questions/following-a-breakdown-on-the-hard-shoulder-how-should-you-rejoin-the-motorway) - [How do smart motorways avoid traffic clustering?](/theory/questions/how-do-smart-motorways-avoid-traffic-clustering) - [How should you deal with traffic already on the motorway when joining from a slip road?](/theory/questions/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?](/theory/questions/in-england-and-wales-traffic-officers-work-on-motorways-as-well-as-some-secondary-routes-w) - [On a motorway, how are the lanes to be used?](/theory/questions/on-a-motorway-how-are-the-lanes-to-be-used) ## Ready to book the real thing? 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