A shoulder, hard shoulder (British) or breakdown lane is an emergency stopping lane by the verge on the outer side of a road or motorway. Many wider freeways, or expressways elsewhere have shoulders on both sides of each directional carriageway—in the median, as well as at the outer edges of the road, for additional safety. Shoulders are not intended for use by through traffic, although there are exceptions.
The shoulder of Saskatchewan Highway 11 in this picture (shown to the right of the solid white line) is wide enough to accommodate a stopped car without impeding the flow of traffic in the travel lanes
In Ireland, dashed yellow lines demarcate hard shoulders on non-motorways, as can be seen along this dual carriageway on the N11.
The Dulles Airport Express bypassing traffic using the shoulder lane
Sign-controlled peak shoulder lane on Interstate 405 near Seattle, Washington, U.S.
A road verge is a strip of groundcover consisting of grass or garden plants, and sometimes also shrubs and trees, located between a roadway and a sidewalk. Verges are known by dozens of other names such as grass strip, nature strip or curb strip, the usage of which is often quite regional.
A curb strip in suburban Greater Boston, Massachusetts. Outside of rural areas in New England, devil strips are narrow – the one pictured is 52 inches (130 cm; 1.3 m) from curb to sidewalk. They are usually not maintained by the municipality, but rather by the property owner, and are used primarily to provide space for utility poles.
Protection of roadside verge in Northumberland UK
Planted rain garden in the "tree lawn" zone, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Ginkgo street trees in the "boulevard" area, in Riverside, Illinois
