From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhard shoulderˌhard ˈshoulder noun [singular] British English TTRthe area at the side of a big road where you are allowed to stop if you have a problem with your car SYN shoulder American English
Examples from the Corpus
hard shoulder• The two children, Mark in Georgina's arms, were spotted along the hard shoulder.• The body of the pregnant housewife was found near the M-50 motorway after her car broke down on the hard shoulder.• He left her on the hard shoulder, near Epping, Essex, saying she would only have to wait 15 minutes.• He pulled up on the hard shoulder, switched off and got out.• I pictured a man taking leave of his motor; wobbling from the fast lane towards the hard shoulder. 