To park on the hard shoulder

[Sophie]

I've just ran into this sentence in my exercise book and don't understand it at all:
"You're not supposed to park on the hard shoulder except in an emergency."
What does " park on the hard shoulder" mean? Is it an idiom?
Please help me.
Thank you very much.
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[Stew.t.]

hi

The "hard shoulder" is the mini-lane at the side of all lanes, on the far outside.
Often used by emergency vechiles or when one has borken down, should not be used for parking.

cheers stew.t.
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Please meet Stewart Tunncilff

[Jaysee]

are "hard shoulder" and "shoulder" the same thing in this context? or is "hard shoulder" a particular type of shoulder? thanks.

[Torsten]

Hi Jaysee,

The "hard shoulder" isn't really a shoulder. As Stew said, it's part of the road. So, the hard shoulder is not a body part but a part of the road.

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Yankee]

Hi Jaysee

In the US, we don't say 'hard shoulder'. We simply talk about the 'shoulder' of a road (i.e. we generally don't add the word 'hard' in this context).
.

[Jaysee]

Thanks!
I didn't think you were talking about a body part. I understood it was about a road.
I just didn't know the expression "hard shoulder". I have known it simply as "shoulder".
As Amy clarified, in the US they say simply "shoulder".
Thanks again.