Broken down on a motorway? What to do, step by step

Breaking down on a motorway is frightening, but a few clear steps will keep you and your passengers safe. This guide follows the Highway Code and National Highways advice. If you only remember one thing, make it this: get yourself away from the traffic before you do anything else.

If you’ve stopped in a live lane and can’t get out safely, stay in your vehicle with your seat belt on and your hazard lights on, and call 999 straight away.

1. Get off the motorway if you can

If the vehicle is still moving, the safest place to stop is off the motorway altogether. Leave at the next exit or pull into a service area if you can reach one safely. Even a warning light that has just come on is usually better dealt with at a services than on the hard shoulder.

2. If you can’t, stop in the safest place

• On a motorway with a hard shoulder, pull onto it and stop as far to the left as you can, with your wheels turned to the left.
• On a smart motorway without a hard shoulder, look for an emergency area: a lay-by with an orange surface and an SOS phone. They’re signposted with a blue sign showing an orange SOS telephone, and the sign tells you how far away the next one is.
• If you can’t reach either, move into the left-hand lane and stop as far left as possible.

Put your hazard lights on, and your sidelights too if it’s dark or visibility is poor.

3. Get out on the left and wait behind the barrier

Get everyone out through the left-hand doors, away from the traffic. Climb over the safety barrier if there is one, and wait up the bank or as far from the carriageway as you can. Leave animals in the vehicle unless it’s an emergency.

Don’t put a warning triangle on a motorway, and don’t try to repair the vehicle yourself, not even to change a tyre.

4. Call for help

• If you’re in a live lane, or you feel at risk, call 999.
• If you’re safely on the hard shoulder or in an emergency area, call your breakdown provider, or call us if you don’t have cover or can’t wait.

To find you quickly, recovery needs the motorway, your direction of travel and the last junction you passed. The small blue driver location signs every 500 metres along the verge show a road number, a direction letter and a distance. Read us the numbers and we’ll know exactly where you are. You can also send your location using the WhatsApp button on our site.

5. While you wait

Stay behind the barrier until help arrives, even if it’s raining or cold. Wear warm clothes if you have them and keep your phone charged. Don’t go back to the vehicle unless you have to. If your situation changes, for example if you feel unsafe or your vehicle catches fire, call 999.

6. When the recovery truck arrives

The recovery operator will position the truck to protect the vehicle and load it as quickly as possible. On a smart motorway, a National Highways traffic officer may close the lane first. Once the vehicle is on the truck, you and your passengers can usually travel with it in the cab.

If your vehicle is repaired at the roadside instead, rejoin the motorway by building up speed on the hard shoulder or in the emergency area, and watch for a safe gap in the left-hand lane.

Need help now? See our motorway recovery service, or call us at any hour.