I had a near miss on the M6. Driving along in Lane 1 (old hard shoulder) at 60 towing a caravan. The car some distance in front of me pulls into emergency area. A couple of seconds later they pull out and in again. Another couple of seconds they pull out again as if to drive off, but they stop in the No. 1 lane and start reversing back into the emergency area. It is now too late for me to stop without hitting them, fortunately the number 2 lane was empty so I swerved into it and went past wihtout time to even blow my horn. There was a car parked in the middle of the emergency area which appears to have caused some confusion o the driver of the car I nearly hit. 

I have since noticed how short the emergency areas are and wonder what happens if a long vehicle, even a car towing a long caravan, is parked in one where the recovery vehicle parks? As the telephone is located in the middle of the area it is natural to stop by it leaving two very short areas either side. 

I have noticed that on the M25 a red X over a lane is an excuse for everyone to ignore it to get to the head of the queue. 

I had a near miss on the M6. Driving along in Lane 1 (old hard shoulder) at 60 towing a caravan. The car some distance in front of me pulls into emergency area. A couple of seconds later they pull out and in again. Another couple of seconds they pull out again as if to drive off, but they stop in the No. 1 lane and start reversing back into the emergency area. It is now too late for me to stop without hitting them, fortunately the number 2 lane was empty so I swerved into it and went past wihtout time to even blow my horn. There was a car parked in the middle of the emergency area which appears to have caused some confusion o the driver of the car I nearly hit. 

I have since noticed how short the emergency areas are and wonder what happens if a long vehicle, even a car towing a long caravan, is parked in one where the recovery vehicle parks? As the telephone is located in the middle of the area it is natural to stop by it leaving two very short areas either side. 

I have noticed that on the M25 a red X over a lane is an excuse for everyone to ignore it to get to the head of the queue.