Your car suddenly breaking down by the roadside can be a frightening experience, especially if it happens on a busy stretch of highway. Nonetheless, it’s important to keep your wits about you and consider your next steps. Staying safe is your number one priority, so here are a few simple steps to help.
#1 Make yourself visible
This is your number one priority, especially at night. If you’ve broken down at the side of a busy road, your vehicle might be difficult for other motorists to spot, potentially leading to accidents. You’ll need to make both you and your vehicle as visible as possible. Motorists should carry some emergency supplies with them, including a fluorescent vest and a set of lights. The vest protects you and ensures that you’re visible, while the lights make the car impossible to miss. LED vehicle lights are a fantastic solution that every motorist should have close at hand. Simply attaching them to your vehicle makes it immediately visible and much safer.
#2 Don’t always stay with the vehicle
In some cases (such as on isolated stretches of road or in adverse weather conditions), it’s advisable to stay with or inside your vehicle as you wait for help to arrive. This isn’t universally the case, though, and it’s far better to remove yourself to somewhere safe in certain situations. If, for example, you’ve broken down on the side of a busy, high-speed highway, then you should move away from your car to a safer spot. Accidents frequently happen on hard shoulders and in laybys, so get to a safe spot. Find somewhere that’s a safe distance from the road but still offers you a good view of your vehicle as you wait for help.
#3 Only use a warning triangle in certain circumstances
Some drivers carry warning triangles in their trunks designed to alert other traffic to a breakdown. While these can be helpful on quieter roads, they certainly aren’t safe to use on a highway. They’re dangerous for you as you try to place them and dangerous for other motorists who might see them too late and be forced to swerve. Instead, keep your hazard lights on, wear a reflective jacket and try to move the car to a safer spot, perhaps a grass verge. Never try to actively alert or flag down passing traffic because this can causes accidents.
#4 Call for help
Regardless of your automotive knowledge, it isn’t advisable to try to repair cars that have broken down on the road. Instead, call for help either using a mobile phone or (if you can’t latch onto a signal) an emergency phone box. Rather than calling a mechanic, opt for an emergency repair service who will be able to retrieve your vehicle safely, move it from a dangerous position and then either fix the problem or take you to a garage. Emergency breakdown companies know how to operate along highways and other perilous roads, so they’ll be able to keep you safe.
