Motorway police are being kept busy near Manchester Airport with drivers choosing a risky place to hang around before picking up passengers. By law, drivers are only allowed to stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway in an emergency, such as a breakdown.
But that is exactly where officers found two drivers waiting to pick people up from Manchester Airport today (April 27). Greater Manchester Police officers patrolling the M56 Manchester Airport spur road first spotted a taxi waiting on the hard shoulder.
The taxi driver had stopped his blue Skoda Octavia by the side of the road before picking up customers at the airport. Moments later, the same GMP officers discovered a silver Ford Focus stopped in the hard shoulder on the same road, with the driver using the same excuse.
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Both drivers were issued traffic offence reports (TOR) from GMP for stopping in the hard shoulder. A spokesperson for North West Motorway Police wrote on Twitter: "Our ME41 came across a private hire vehicle parked on the hard shoulder of the M56 Manchester Airport Spur. Driver waiting to pick up passengers - TOR issued."
In a second tweet minutes later, the North West Motorway Police added: "A busy ME41 came across a second vehicle on the hard shoulder on the M56 Manchester Airport Spur, waiting to pick up passengers. Another TOR issued."
It's not the first time drivers have been caught waiting by the side of the M56 before picking up passengers at Manchester Airport. The airport charges £6 for 30 minutes in its car parks for pick-up, £12 for an hour or £20 for two hours.
