What do you do if your cars breaks down on a highway?

[Argo]

Especially if you don't have AAA. I was always wondering that.

 

[bunker]

Pray you're still covered by your mfg's warranty and have roadside assistance?

Or, if you have a cell phone, most carriers offer some sort of roadside assistance.

 

[xospec1alk]

i got stuck on the highway, called 911, they transferred me over to the state police, and they sent out a tow truck...of course it cost me an arm and a leg but at least i wasn't on the highway anymore

 

[FoBoT]

call a tow truck and get it towed to your mechanic's shop or your house if you are a shade tree mechanic/poor

or if you are too poor to pay for a tow, get a hold of your mechanic buddy and get them out there to see if he can get it running enough to drive it off the highway/home

 

[iamwiz82]

try to Maneuver your vehicle to block as many lanes of traffic as possible and park it.

 

[dman]

All insurance companies, that I've ever delt with, offer a roadside assistance program that will cover towing charges up to a fixed mileage (usually 20-25 miles). If you need to go more than 25 miles they'll pay up to that amount and you pay beyond. It generally costs about $4-7 per 6mo's per vehicle. Cheaper than AAA but not quite as good, but better than having to pay towing for 25 miles.

Some cars (our Toyota) has a roadside assistance from the Toyota dealer throughout FL.

 

[mpitts]

It happened to me a long time ago. I had an '87 Grand Prix that was a hunk of crap. I just pulled it over and walked to the nearest gas station, called my friend and had them come pick me up. Then I had to have the car towed.

 

[RossMAN]

Hope that you have insurance which comes with roadside assistance (mine does) or that you bought a Hyundai which comes with 5 years roadside assistance.

 

[Argo]

The reason I asked is every now and then I see a broken down car on a shoulder and a couple of police cars around it. I was wondering if it was customary to call police in such situations and if they could do anything.

 

[Linflas]

In this area I jump out and run for cover much like you would if someone tosses a grenade your way. The interstate I drive on regularly uses the shoulders as lanes during rush hours and they have signs with little red X's for the non rush hours but of course once people have become accustomed to it being a lane the little red X's are meaningless.

 

[StageLeft]

That's why you get AAA on older cars. I think i paid $40 for a year. And after a year I can get gold for $50/year or something like that. I get a free tow truck up to 5 miles or something and guaranteed no more than $2.50 for each mile after that. Not cheap but it's better than calling a tow truck out of the phone book and saying "Help me!". With the gold one you get up to 100 miles free towing.

 

[notfred]

Walk.

There's a phone and/or gas station w/ a tow truck out there somewhere.

 

[TNTrulez]

Those towing charges costs an arm and a leg.

 

[StattlichPassat]

Screw AAA- check the 1-800 number on the back of your driver's license- did you know the State government funds highway roadside assistance? They do in Texas anyway. Not many people know about it. A couple of my friends have used it with success and had help within a half hour.

Your tax dollars at work. YMMV

 

[goodoptics]

Originally posted by: NightFlyerGTI
Screw AAA- check the 1-800 number on the back of your driver's license- did you know the State government funds highway roadside assistance? They do in Texas anyway. Not many people know about it. A couple of my friends have used it with success and had help within a half hour.

Your tax dollars at work. YMMV

There is no 1-800 number on the back of my driver license.

 

[pyonir]

Really the only option left to you at the time is to run out into traffic and try and get a car to stop, so they can help you.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

call a tow truck and have it taken directly to your mechanic or salvage yard.

 

[deftron]

My Sprint cell phone offers roadside assistance and is cheaper than insurance companies

$4 a month (about the same as AAA)

I think they cover $60 on each call.. which is about average for a short to medium distance tow.

My roomate got his car towed like 50 miles and didn't have to pay extra



I guess I should probably sign up for it

 

[StattlichPassat]

Originally posted by: goodoptics

Originally posted by: NightFlyerGTI
Screw AAA- check the 1-800 number on the back of your driver's license- did you know the State government funds highway roadside assistance? They do in Texas anyway. Not many people know about it. A couple of my friends have used it with success and had help within a half hour.

Your tax dollars at work. YMMV

There is no 1-800 number on the back of my driver license.

Come to think of it, I guess it's not in every state. It certainly won't be in Tennessee, that's for sure (re: broke government). Man, I love Texas. It would be interesting to see who's DLs have the number on them though. If it wouldn't be changing the thread subject, maybe you could post your state if you've got it.

EDIT: nm, I started another thread to see if other states offer this. Carry on!

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: NightFlyerGTI
Come to think of it, I guess it's not in every state. It certainly won't be in Tennessee, that's for sure (re: broke government). Man, I love Texas. It would be interesting to see who's DLs have the number on them though. If it wouldn't be changing the thread subject, maybe you could post your state if you've got it.

Don't have it on an Arizona license, and i don't recall a number being on a Minnesota one either.

 

[deftron]

Back of my driver's license:

Virginia law requires you to notify DMV within 30 days if you change your address


Not very helpful...


I have seen "roadside assistance" cars on the highway (look like cop cars so not easy to miss)

I guess they will call you a tow truck, but I highly doubt they'll pay for it

 

[dman]

Originally posted by: Argo
The reason I asked is every now and then I see a broken down car on a shoulder and a couple of police cars around it. I was wondering if it was customary to call police in such situations and if they could do anything.

The police will call a tow truck for you. That's about it. If you are blocking lanes of traffic or there's a risk of an accident from your breakdown, they might get there before the tow truck and turn on their lights for you. If you call and feal unsafe they may come and wait for the tow truck to arrive. If someone else called the police for you, they may come and wait for the tow truck to arrive.

Otherwise, they can't and won't help you actually fix a problem with your car. It has to do with insurance and liability. You can claim that they damaged your vehicle trying to help and then they get into a mess because they were trying to be nice. So they generally do nothing or as close to nothing as possible.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: Argo
The reason I asked is every now and then I see a broken down car on a shoulder and a couple of police cars around it. I was wondering if it was customary to call police in such situations and if they could do anything.

It's illegal to park you car on highway right-of-way. The cops show up and tag the vehicle based on the safety hazzard it presents. Pull it all the way off into the ditch and you may get 48 hours, leave it 2 inches from traffic and you may have an hour before it gets towed and impounded.

 

[CraigRT]

I'd call my 24 hour road side assistance that came with my car!

 

[WolverineGator]

What do you do if your cars breaks down on a highway?

Start pushing.


Whip your bicycle out of the trunk and start pedaling.


Hitchhike.


Take the bus.