Traffic officers are backing a new campaign to cut accidents on motorway hard shoulders and save lives.

The officers, based in Salmesbury, will be distributing new Surviving the Hard Shoulder leaflets as part the campaign SURVIVE - Safe Use of Roadside Verges in Vehicular Emergencies.

The aim of SURVIVE is to help improve the safety of those who are required to work on the hard shoulder and members of the public who find themselves on the hard shoulder after a break down or collision.

The new, full-colour illustrated leaflets give tips on how to behave during a hard shoulder break down as well as advice on who to call on for help.

Hundreds of the leaflets are set to be handed out over the next few months by the on road patrols of traffic officers.

The new leaflets also feature advice for disabled drivers breaking down as well as key dos and don'ts of hard shoulder behaviour.

For example, drivers should never stop in the hard shoulder to use a mobile telephone - nor to go to the toilet, attend to children, check a map, exercise a pet or take a break.

More than half the 340 daily incidents attended by Highways Agency Traffic Officers in the North West are down to mechanical break downs or - avoidably - running out of fuel in the hard shoulder.

Jamie Carr, Network Operations Manager in charge of the North West Traffic Officer Service, said, "The hard shoulder is there for use in an emergency only and the leaflet gives vital advice to anyone who finds themselves in what can be an intimidating situation.

"Obviously the leaflet warns against people stopping needlessly - like reading a map or even taking a nap - but the main aim is to help people to take the right course of action when they do break down in an emergency."

There are six 'outstations' across the region from where Highways Traffic Officers patrol the North West motorway network.

Every outstation has been given a supply of Surviving the Hard Shoulder leaflets which will be handed out when traffic officers speak to drivers in the hard shoulder or at special events such as visits to motorway service areas.