MOTORWAY drivers have been urged not to stop on the hard shoulder unless it’s an absolute emergency.

The warning comes after a traffic officer found a family who had stopped there on the M4 near Bristol to give their misbehaving child a ‘time-out’.

This was one of many excuses, released by Highways England, that motorists have given when asked why they had stopped on the hard shoulder of motorways across the country.

Simon Jones, Regional Director for the south east at Highways England, said: “We want everyone to get to their destinations safely but some people put themselves at risk.

“The advice is simple: be prepared, check your vehicle before you set out to avoid unnecessary breakdowns, don’t stop except in an emergency, and, if you have to stop, make sure you know what to do.

“Drivers often think the hard shoulder is a safe place to stop but over 100 people are killed or injured on the hard shoulder every year.

“We don’t want you to become one of those statistics; we want you to stay safe.”

Always try to exit the motorway immediately if your vehicle is damaged or experiences difficulties. If that’s not possible, move into the nearest place of relative safety.

On most motorways this will be the hard shoulder. If there isn't one, make your way to the nearest emergency area, marked with blue signs featuring an orange SOS telephone symbol.

Other motorists have been caught cooking a meal on the hard shoulder near Dartford because they were hungry, a lorry driver had parked on the M1 hard shoulder to walk to the services instead of using the nearby parking facilities, while another lorry driver had a nap while blocking an emergency access route.

A woman on the M1 near Mansfield had stopped to phone her husband for directions after getting lost, a man, a couple of drivers had stopped to relieve themselves on the side of the road, and another woman was found on the hard shoulder eating a mince pie after leaving the Stafford services.