Breaking down in a parking lot is an inconvenience. Breaking down on the shoulder of a highway is genuinely a different situation, and it’s worth knowing what to do before it happens to you.
Get as far off the road as you can
The moment you notice a problem — a warning light, a strange noise, the engine losing power — start looking for a safe place to pull off well before you actually stop. A shoulder, an exit ramp, or a side road is always better than stopping in a travel lane. Signal your intentions early so drivers behind you know what you’re doing.
Hazards on, every time
Turn your hazard lights on as soon as you start slowing down, and leave them on the entire time you’re stopped, whether it’s broad daylight or pitch dark. It’s the simplest thing you can do to make yourself visible to approaching traffic.
Decide: stay in the car, or get out?
This depends on where you’ve stopped. If you’re close to the travel lane, staying in your seat with your seatbelt on is usually the safer option — a car provides real protection that standing on the shoulder doesn’t. If you were able to get well clear of traffic, exiting on the side away from the road and standing back from your vehicle can be reasonable too. There’s no single right answer for every situation — use your judgment based on how close traffic is and how much shoulder you have.
Make yourself visible
If you have a reflective triangle, road flares, or even just a bright piece of clothing, use it. At night especially, being seen matters more than almost anything else.
Know what to tell whoever you call
Whether you’re calling us or anyone else, the details that matter are the same:
- Which highway and which direction you were traveling
- The nearest mile marker, exit, or town
- What’s actually wrong, as best you can describe it
- Anything unusual about where you’re stopped (a curve, a hill, limited shoulder)
After you’re stopped, keep watching
Even with hazards on, keep an eye on your mirrors while you wait. If a vehicle seems to be drifting toward you, it’s better to move further away from the road, even if that means leaving the vehicle temporarily, than to assume you’ll be seen in time.
Broken down on Highway 6 or Highway 7 in Lafayette County? See our Highway Corridor page or call us with your location.