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=== United Kingdom and Ireland === {{Main|Motorway service area}} [[File:Cherwell Valley Services Sign.jpg|thumb|Signage for services provided at [[Cherwell Valley services]], UK. Most motorway services accommodate restaurants, fast food outlets, and coffee shops.]] The term "rest area" is not generally used in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The most common terms are ''motorway service areas'' (MSA), ''motorway service stations'' or simply "services". As with the rest of the world, these are places where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel, rest, or get refreshments. Most service stations accommodate fast food outlets, restaurants, coffee shops, general goods, stationary and book shops and mini supermarkets. Some service stations also incorporate hotels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sixty years of motorways |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/mar/24/what-a-journey-sixty-years-of-motorway-service-stations | work = The Guardian | first1 = Sam | last1 = Wollaston | date = 24 March 2019| access-date = 17 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=WH SMITH moto |url=https://moto-way.com/brands/whsmith/}}</ref> Services may also be present on non-motorway roads, as well; many [[A-roads]] have services, possibly only providing a petrol station and, in some cases, a restaurant or cafΓ©. The majority of service areas within Ireland are operated by [[Circle K]] or [[Applegreen]], and contain fuel stations, truck stops, shops and fast food outlets, such as [[McDonald's|McDonalds]], [[Burger King]], [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]] or Chopstix; they differ, from the United Kingdom for example, in that only one service station contains a hotel (the M7 services in [[Portlaoise]], [[County Laois]]). ====Lay-bys==== [[File:Lay-by on the A35 - geograph.org.uk - 379192.jpg|thumb|Signage for a larger lay-by with some facilities near [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], UK]] The term "lay-by" is used in the UK and Ireland to describe a roadside parking or rest area for drivers. Equivalent terms in the United States are "turnout" or "pullout". Lay-bys can vary in size, from a simple parking bay alongside the carriageway (sufficient for one or two cars only) to substantial areas that are separated from the carriageway by verges, which can accommodate dozens of vehicles. Lay-bys are to be found on the side of most rural UK roads, except [[motorway]]s that are not on sections of [[smart motorway]]s (but for emergencies only) where the [[hard shoulder]] is missing. They are marked by a rectangular blue sign bearing a white letter P, and there should also be advance warning of lay-bys to give drivers time to slow down safely.<ref>Lay-by and advance warning of lay-by signage from the [http://www.drivingschoolireland.com/signs-information.html Irish highway code].</ref><ref>Advance signage of lay-bys instructions in [http://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/vol6/section3/td6907.pdf Standards for Highways], sections 4.8 and 4.9, from the [[Highways Agency]].</ref><!-- also distinguish between Highways Agency practice and legal requirements for local roads. -->
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