ORLANDO, Florida. – News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero answers viewer questions about the rules of the road each week and helps Orlando-area residents become better drivers through better education.

News 6 viewer Roger asked: “What happens if traffic has come to a standstill due to an accident and I use the hard shoulder because traffic has come to a complete standstill?”

“The spectator described the hard shoulder as a way to avoid stationary traffic. The hard shoulder is officially referred to as the shoulder of the road and is not a means of overtaking traffic,” he said.

According to Trooper Steve, a driver may only drive on the shoulder of a roadway if individually instructed to do so by a first responder or if they are in an area where the “Flex Lane” signs are active.

“The flex lanes are an area where traffic on the main lanes is obstructed by an accident or something else. That’s when the flex lane sign activates and instructs drivers to go around the obstruction on the shoulder,” he said. “I understand that’s frustrating. Just because I talk about traffic doesn’t mean I like traffic. But we can’t just drive wherever we want, whenever we want. If that bystander thinks, ‘That’s OK,’ then other bystanders already are. Please stay here with the crowd and wait until the traffic clears or you are directed to go somewhere else.”

If you have a traffic question for Trooper Steve, submit it here.

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