soft shoulder

noun
1.
the unpaved edge of a road.
Examples from the web for soft shoulder
  • Pulling off onto the soft shoulder, he felt a certain resistance from the undercarriage.
  • Plowing during an early or late snow fall with a fully loaded truck can cause damage to the soft shoulder.
  • While driving along a dangerous abrupt edge or soft shoulder, maintain full attention on the road.
  • Dropping off onto a soft shoulder may cause the outside wheels to sink and trip the whole unit on its side.
  • Oftentimes, you will see this activity take place on the soft shoulder of the road and that presents a dangerous situation.
  • The road had little or no soft shoulder on either side.
British Dictionary definitions for soft shoulder

soft shoulder

noun
1.
a soft edge along the side of a road that is unsuitable for vehicles to drive on