Breaking down on a highway is stressful, and stress makes people do the wrong thing first. Almost everyone reaches for their phone before they have made themselves safe. Do these in order instead.
1. Get off the driving lane
If the vehicle is still moving, use that momentum. Signal, move right, and aim for the widest shoulder you can reach — an approach, a pullout, an exit ramp. A car fully off the pavement is far safer than one stopped half in a lane, even if it means driving another few hundred metres on a flat.
2. Make yourself visible
Hazard lights on immediately. In low light or blowing snow, that is not enough on its own — if you have reflective triangles or flares, set them well back from the vehicle so traffic has time to react at highway speed.
3. Decide whether to stay in the vehicle
On a rural highway with a wide shoulder, staying buckled inside is usually safest. If you are close to a blind curve, the crest of a hill, or traffic is passing tight to your vehicle, get out on the passenger side and move well behind the guardrail or up the ditch bank.
4. Know where you are before you call
The single thing that speeds up a tow more than anything else is an accurate location. Before dialling, look for:
- The highway number and direction you were travelling
- The nearest range road, exit number, or kilometre marker
- What you passed a minute ago — a town, an overpass, a landmark
If you have signal, drop a pin in your maps app and be ready to read the coordinates. "Somewhere on the QEII" costs everyone time.
5. Call a tow company you chose
You are not obliged to take whoever your roadside club or insurer dispatches. You can call the company you trust, and in a lot of cases they will reach you sooner. Ask three questions when you call:
- What is the realistic ETA?
- Do you have the right truck for my vehicle?
- What will this cost, roughly?
A straight answer to all three is a good sign.
Winter changes the math
Below freezing, a breakdown becomes a heat problem as well as a vehicle problem. Keep a blanket, a toque and gloves in the vehicle from October onward. Run the engine for warmth in ten-minute bursts rather than continuously, and check that the exhaust pipe is clear of snow before you do — a blocked pipe pushes carbon monoxide back into the cabin.
We are one call away
Notorious Towing runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year across Southern Alberta. Whether it is a flat deck to the body shop, a jump start, or a recovery off the shoulder, call us and we will hook you up.