What is the procedure if you break down on a motorway?
A calm, step-by-step guide to staying safe if your vehicle fails on a motorway or smart motorway in the UK.
A breakdown on a motorway is one of the most dangerous places for it to happen, because of the speed of the traffic around you. The safest thing you can do is get yourself away from moving vehicles. Here is the procedure to follow.
Get off the carriageway if you can
If you feel a problem developing, try to leave at the next exit or pull into a service area. If that is not possible, move onto the hard shoulder, or into an emergency refuge area on a smart motorway, and stop as far to the left as you can.
Put your left indicators on as you pull in, and once stopped, switch on your hazard warning lights so other drivers can see you.
Get everyone out of the left-hand side
Leave the vehicle by the left-hand doors, away from the traffic, and get everyone behind the safety barrier and well up the embankment if there is one. Keep any pets in the vehicle.
Do not stand in front of or behind your vehicle, and never attempt a repair yourself on the hard shoulder with traffic passing.
Call for help
Use an emergency roadside telephone if there is one nearby, the orange posts point you to the nearest, as it tells the control room exactly where you are. Otherwise call for assistance and give your location using the marker posts at the side of the road.
On a smart motorway with no hard shoulder, if you cannot reach a refuge area, keep your seatbelt on, your hazards on, and call 999 straight away so the lane can be closed to protect you.
What happens when recovery arrives
Once a recovery vehicle reaches you, the vehicle is loaded safely and taken to a place where it can be dealt with off the motorway, a garage, your home, or somewhere you can wait in safety.
If you break down in or near our area of Surrey, we can recover your vehicle and get you moving on from the roadside.
The Short Version
- Pull as far left as possible and put your hazards on.
- Leave by the left-hand doors and get behind the barrier.
- Keep pets in the car and never attempt a hard-shoulder repair.
- On a smart motorway with no refuge, stay belted and call 999.
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