Roadside safety
What to do while you wait
General roadside practice, written for the time between the breakdown and somebody arriving. None of it is specific to RoadResQ, and all of it applies whoever you end up calling.
Call 911 first if
- Anybody is injured, however minor it looks.
- The vehicle is in a live traffic lane and will not move.
- There is smoke, fuel on the ground, or you can smell burning.
- You feel unsafe where you are, for any reason at all.
RoadResQ is roadside assistance. We are not an emergency service and we are not a substitute for one.
In the first minute
Do these in this order
Asking for help is last on purpose. Nothing about a phone call changes where you are standing.
Hazard lights on
The moment you know something is wrong, before you have decided anything else. It costs nothing and it is what other drivers see first.
Get out of the live lane if the vehicle still moves
A shoulder, an exit, a side street, a parking lot. Even a few car lengths off the roadway changes the situation completely. If it will not move, leave it and do not push it in traffic.
Decide whether to stay in the vehicle
On a highway shoulder or anywhere without room to stand clear, staying belted in with hazards on is usually safer than standing outside. Where there is a barrier, a verge or a sidewalk well back from traffic, being out and behind it is safer.
If you get out, get out on the side away from traffic
Then move well back from the roadway, behind a guardrail if there is one. Do not stand in front of or behind the vehicle. That is where a second impact goes.
Then ask for help
Send a request or call. You will be asked where the vehicle is, not where you are standing, so it is fine to be away from it.
It depends where you are
Where you have stopped changes what to do
- Highway or interstate shoulder
- Pull as far right as the shoulder allows and keep the wheels straight. Stay belted with hazards on unless there is a barrier or verge you can get well behind. Do not attempt a tire change on the traffic side of the vehicle.
- Bridge, tunnel or a road with no shoulder
- There is nowhere safe to stand. Stay in the vehicle, seatbelt on, hazards on, and call 911. This is a road blockage, not a roadside job.
- City street
- Get to the curb, hazards on, and be careful opening a door into a traffic lane or a bike lane. Watch the traffic side when you step out.
- Parking lot, driveway or garage
- The safest place to be, and the easiest for us to work in. Make sure the vehicle is in park with the handbrake on before anybody opens the hood or lifts a wheel.
- After dark
- Interior light on so you are visible from inside the vehicle. Only place reflective triangles or flares if you can do it without walking in a live lane. Something reflective or light-colored on you helps.
- Snow, heavy rain or extreme cold
- If you are running the engine for heat, check the tailpipe is not packed with snow first. A blocked exhaust puts carbon monoxide into the cabin. Crack a window slightly. Stay with the vehicle: it is easier to find than a person walking.
Once help is coming
Small things worth doing while you wait
- Have the location as exact as you can make it: an exit number, a mile marker, a cross street, the nearest business. Sharing your location from your phone does this for you.
- Keep the phone reachable and the ringer on. We call when we are close.
- If you have moved the vehicle since you sent the request, call and tell us. We will be looking at the old spot otherwise.
- For a jump start, pop the hood only when we are there. There is no reason to stand over an open engine bay on a shoulder.
- Visibility drops, the vehicle gets hit, anybody feels unwell: that is 911, not us.
Where we stop
What RoadResQ is, and what it is not
What we are
Roadside assistance. Somebody drives to where your vehicle is and does one of the jobs on the services page. That is the whole of it.
RESQ NOWWhat we are not
- An emergency service. We do not have sirens, we are not dispatched by anybody, and we cannot close a lane.
- A tow truck. If the vehicle needs to move on a truck, that is a different call.
- A promise about when somebody arrives. No response time has been measured, so none is published anywhere on this site.