Where one might stop cruel bear (4,8)
I believe the answer is:
hard shoulder
'where one might stop' is the definition.
(safe place to stop on a road)
'cruel bear' is the wordplay.
'cruel' becomes 'hard' ('hard' can be similar in meaning to 'cruel').
'bear' becomes 'shoulder' (I've seen this before**).
'hard'+'shoulder'='HARD SHOULDER'
(Other definitions for hard shoulder that I've seen before include "Motorway edge" , "Motorway edging" , "Part of motorway" , "Strip by a busy road" , "space for emergency stops" .)