Guide
Broken Down on the Motorway: What to Do and What Recovery Costs
Whether it's the M5, M6 or M54, a motorway breakdown feels frightening — but the order you do things in is simple, and once you're safe the recovery itself is usually quick and cheaper than people expect.
The single most important thing
On a live motorway, call 999 and ask for National Highways before you call anyone else. They can close the lane with the overhead signs and send a traffic officer. No recovery truck — ours included — is allowed to stop on a live lane until that happens.
The safety order, step by step
- 1
Hazards on immediately. If the car is still rolling, aim for an exit slip, services or an emergency refuge area — momentum often carries you further than you think.
- 2
If you stop on a hard shoulder or verge, everyone leaves by the left-hand doors and gets behind the barrier. Never stand in front of or behind the vehicle.
- 3
If you're stranded in a live lane and can't get out safely, stay belted in with hazards on and call 999 straight away.
- 4
Call 999 for National Highways first, then call your recovery operator once the scene is being managed.
- 5
Give the recovery operator the motorway, the nearest junction numbers and your direction of travel — marker posts on the verge show exact locations.
The M5, M6 and M54 around the West Midlands
Our Walsall base sits where these three motorways meet. The M6 runs past Walsall between J7 (Great Barr) and J10A, including smart motorway stretches with no hard shoulder. The M5 begins at the M6 J8 interchange and runs down through West Bromwich, Oldbury and Quinton. The M54 starts at M6 J10A and runs west past Wolverhampton towards Telford.
Because we're local, a recovery truck from us is usually at the refuge area or junction within 20–35 minutes of the scene being made safe — considerably faster than a national club dispatching from a regional depot. Read more about our M5, M6 and M54 motorway recovery service or our dedicated M6 Walsall page.
What does motorway recovery cost?
Motorway recovery costs more than a quiet side-street pickup because the truck, the timing and the paperwork around National Highways are more involved — but it should still be a single fixed figure agreed on the phone before anyone sets off. Be wary of any operator who won't quote a total price upfront.
The price depends on three things: where the car is (a refuge area is simpler than a live-lane closure), where it's going (back home locally, or long-distance), and the vehicle itself (a small car versus a loaded 3.5-tonne van). Our guide to recovery costs breaks down typical pricing in more detail.
If you're reading this from behind a barrier right now, skip the reading — call us on 03300 435121 once you've spoken to National Highways, and we'll get a flatbed to you.
Broken down on the motorway now?
24/7 motorway recovery across the M5, M6 and M54 from our Walsall base. Fixed price agreed before we set off.