[roverbarmy]

Having spent a long period of my life recovering HGVs from motorways, I would say that a hard shoulder is an absolute necessity. Even where there is one, it is a very dangerous place to be. I always parked my HGV recovery truck behind the stranded vehicle with the wheels pointing hard left until all the prep work was done before lifting/recovering. I would then pull around the vehicle to be recovered and attach the lifters or links at the last minute. It's not until you've been directly next to a busy motorway that you get the true sense of danger involved. I've heard of horrendous accidents that are rarely fully reported but folks in "the trade" are fully aware of. Never ever sit in your vehicle waiting to be recovered and when the recovery vehicle does arrive, stay clear until the recoverer has done his/her work. Stay safe folks.