pull onto the hard shoulder

[Bushwhacker]

May "pull onto the hard shoulder" mean "to park the car on the side of a road" becasue of a failure?

Thank You :-D:up:

 

[Ouisch]

In AmE, the "hard shoulder" refers to the side of the road outside the regular driving lanes which is paved (with concrete or asphalt).

A "soft shoulder" means that the side of the road is unpaved and is comprised of dirt and gravel.

And yes, if you experience car trouble, you would pull off onto the shoulder to get out of the stream of traffic and wait for assistance.

 

[Barb_D]

Not necessarily park, but get your car off the road and onto the shoulder.

Sometimes the shoulder is paved, and sometimes it's gravel, and sometimes it's just nothing - but hopefully flat and firm enough to not make your tires sink after a rain.

You may pull ont the shoulder because you need to take a look at the map, or even answer your cell phone, in addition to hearing your car make a strange noise or getting a flat tire.