Breakdowns on motorways

According to a survey by the Highways Agency (now Highways England), 11 200 people ran out of petrol on the English motorway network between April 2010 and September 2011. Before you join a motorway, make sure that you have enough fuel to reach your destination. If you find that you’re running low, pull in to the nearest service station rather than risk running your vehicle on an empty tank, as this can lead to dirt and sediment clogging your fuel filter or injectors.

If you know that you’re going to need to fill up more than once on your journey, plan ahead by looking at the intervals between service stations on your route.

You should be able to find this information online by using station locator and route planner tools. Most satellite navigation (sat-nav) systems will also have service stations marked on their maps.

If you do break down on the motorway, try and reach the next exit or service area. If you can’t do this, steer your vehicle onto the hard shoulder as safely as possible, and as far to the left as you can, away from traffic.

When you stop, it’s a good idea to have your wheels turned to the left so that, if you’re hit from behind, your vehicle isn’t pushed onto the main carriageway.

When you stop

Once you’ve stopped

• switch on your hazard lights to warn other drivers that you’ve broken down • make sure your sidelights are on in poor visibility or at night
• don’t open the offside doors
• warn your passengers of the dangers of passing vehicles
• keep animals inside
• with your passengers, leave the vehicle by the nearside door away from the traffic. Lock all doors, except the front passenger door
• ask your passengers to wait near the vehicle, but on the embankment away from the hard shoulder
• telephone the emergency services. (Let them know if you’re a vulnerable motorist such as a disabled or older person, or are travelling alone or with young children.) If possible, use a roadside emergency telephone, which will pinpoint your position, rather than a mobile phone.

Never

• attempt even simple repairs on the motorway
• place any kind of warning device on the carriageway or hard shoulder.

Disabled drivers

If you have any kind of mobility difficulty, you should stay in your vehicle and

• keep your seat belt fastened
• switch on your hazard warning lights
• display a ‘help’ pennant or use a mobile phone, if you have one in your vehicle, and be prepared to advise the emergency services of your location.

If you pass a broken-down vehicle displaying a ‘help’ pennant, you may feel you should do something to help. However, you mustn’t stop and approach the vehicle. If you think the incident needs to be reported, you should leave the motorway or dual carriageway at the next exit or service area and report what you’ve seen, making sure you know the location of the vehicle before you call.

Calling for help

Emergency telephones

These telephones are connected to control centres and are on most stretches of motorway at one-mile intervals.

Look for a telephone symbol and arrow on marker posts 100 metres (328 feet) apart along the hard shoulder.

The arrow directs you to the nearest phone on your side of the carriageway. Walk to the telephone, keeping on the inside of the hard shoulder.

Never cross the carriageway or an exit or entry slip road to reach a telephone or for any other purpose.

Using the emergency telephone

The telephone connects you to a control centre, which will put you through to a breakdown service. Always face the traffic when you speak on the telephone.

You’ll be asked for

• the number on the telephone, which gives your precise location
• details of your vehicle and your membership details, if you belong to one of the motoring organisations
• details of the fault.

If you’re a vulnerable motorist, such as a woman travelling alone, make this clear to the operator. You’ll be told approximately how long you’ll have to wait.

Mobile phones

If you’re unable to use an emergency telephone, use a mobile phone if you have one in your vehicle.

However, before you call, make sure that you can provide precise details of your location. Marker posts on the side of the hard shoulder identify your location and you should provide these details when you call.

Waiting for the emergency services

Wait on the bank near your vehicle, so you can see the emergency services arriving.

Don’t wait in your vehicle unless another vehicle pulls up near you and you feel at risk.

Motorway deaths have been caused by vehicles being driven into people on the hard shoulder. When you’re on the hard shoulder you’re much more likely to be injured by motorway traffic than suffer a personal attack.

If you’re approached by anyone you don’t recognise as a member of the emergency services, think carefully before you speak to them.

If they try to speak to you, ask for some identification and tell them that the police or control centre have been told and the emergency services are coming.

A traffic officer or a person claiming to be from the emergency services should have

• an identity card
• your details: your name and information about the breakdown.

Leave your vehicle again as soon as you feel the danger has passed.

If you can’t get your vehicle onto the hard shoulder, switch on your hazard warning lights and leave your vehicle only when you can safely get clear of the carriageway.

Rejoining the motorway

Use the hard shoulder to build up speed before joining the other traffic when it’s safe to do so. Don’t try to move out from behind another vehicle or force your way into the stream of traffic.

Remember to switch off your hazard warning lights before moving off.