Keep your cool in these situations.Such shoulder is not suitable for driving and may not hold a heavy vehicle.

noun. Traffic can pull over to in case of an emergency, and get off the road to allow an ambulance to pass by. Define soft shoulder. © 2020 Worksafe Traffic Control. soft shoulder synonyms, soft shoulder pronunciation, soft shoulder translation, English dictionary definition of soft shoulder.

Generally speaking, Not only is it dangerous to drive on a soft roadside, but it’s actually illegal, so keep that in mind as well when you see one of the signs. Obviously, this is a situation that supersedes all ordinary traffic regulations, and since you’ve been directed by a legal authority, it is perfectly permissible to drive on the hard roadside.There are also times when a traffic sign will direct you to drive on the hard shoulder because the ordinary driving lanes are out of usage for some reason.

All Rights Reserved. First of all, the sign itself is a cautionary sign, and its purpose is to inform you that the berm up ahead is made of a material which is not the same as the hard asphalt or concrete that you’re currently driving on.That means you should avoid driving on it, because there could be unexpected driving conditions on that soft shoulder, and it could cause your vehicle to swerve or react to a change in the road surface. Not only is it dangerous to drive on a soft roadside, but it’s actually illegal, so keep that in mind as well when you see one of the signs. If you do end up driving on a hard shoulder for some period of time, be alert for a sign or other indication that you should return to your normal driving lane.The fact that a soft shoulder is usually lower in height than the roadway immediately adjacent also presents some problems with safe driving, and it’s another reason why you should avoid navigating down a soft road shoulder.
A Soft Shoulders sign is meant to warn drivers about the difference in these two surfaces, and to alert everyone that driving on the shoulder is likely to be hazardous and unstable.

If your car goes off of the pavement and hits the soft shoulder, you could lose control of your car.

The SHOULDER DROP OFF sign is used for even more severe drop-off situations. The only reasons that you should be on a soft shoulder at all are to remove your vehicle from the traffic flow when an emergency vehicle needs to pass by, or if your vehicle itself requires some kind of emergency service.It’s always better to have your vehicle out of the way of traffic flow if it is somehow disabled, or has lost some aspect of operational capability. Most countries install berms on the right side of the road unless it happens to be for a right-hand driving country like the United Kingdom or Australia, in which case they’ll be installed on the left side of a road.Probably most motorists have seen soft shoulder signs, and are aware, if only vaguely, about what it means and how to react to it. For any other instances than these, it is illegal to drive on a hard shoulder, even if it is considerably safer than soft shoulder driving.There will also be occasions when traffic police may direct you to drive by on a hard shoulder because an accident or because a collision has taken place on the road up ahead. As long as you stay on the legitimate road surface itself, you should have no issues with a Soft Shoulder sign, or the area it’s trying to make you aware of.What does a soft shoulder sign mean?

Signal and gradually steer back onto the road. On a busy road such as a freeway, the soft shoulder is the area at the side of the road where vehicles are allowed to stop in an emergency. If you want to know more or withdraw your consent to all or some of the cookies, please refer to our privacy policy. The definition of a soft shoulder is the soft, unpaved ground along the edge of a highway. The Soft Shoulder sign (W8-4) is used to warn of a soft shoulder condition. Soft roadside should only be driven on in the case of an emergency, and even so, you should be prepared for your wheels to lose traction when moving into a soft roadside lane.

The soft shoulder sign informs drivers of the soft, unpaved ground along the edge of the road or Shoulder Signs: placed in advance of locations where the shoulder is lower than the road or the shoulder is soft (not paved). Let your vehicle slow to a reasonable speed. Wait until you have full control off your vehicle.

You may have been driving along at some point, and you’ve seen a sign which declares that there is a Soft Shoulder up ahead, and you may have wondered exactly what that means. Then, check the traffic behind you before you carefully move directly back onto the roadway. In most cases, soft shoulders are also at a lower level than the actual road surface, so there will probably also be some hazards associated with steering when you have at least two wheels on a soft shoulder.Berms are often included on the sides of well-traveled roads so they can be used for an emergency stop, as well as for traffic control by authorities.