Guide
Smart Motorway Breakdowns: The Steps That Matter
On a conventional motorway the hard shoulder buys you time. Where there isn't one, the order you do things in is what keeps you safe — and the recovery truck is the last item on that list, not the first.
The single most important thing
Call 999 and ask for National Highways before you call anyone else. They can close the lane above you with the overhead gantry signs and send a traffic officer. A recovery operator cannot do either of those things, and no price quote is worth the minutes it takes.
If the vehicle is still moving
Keep going as far as you safely can. An exit slip road is better than an emergency refuge area, and a refuge is far better than a running lane. Losing power does not mean losing momentum immediately — most cars will carry enough speed to cover several hundred metres, and that distance is often the difference between a safe stop and a dangerous one.
Hazards on straight away. Indicate left as you move over. Be aware that once the engine dies you lose the power steering assistance and the brake servo, so both will need much more effort than you expect.
If you reach a refuge or the verge
- Park as far left in the refuge as you can and leave the hazards on.
- Get out of the nearside doors only — never the driver's side into live traffic.
- Climb the barrier and stand well back from it, up the embankment if there is one.
- Leave the steering turned to the left so an impact pushes the car away from the carriageway.
- Use the orange SOS phone in the refuge if you have it — it tells National Highways exactly where you are.
If you're stuck in a live lane
This is the scenario the advice exists for. If you cannot get out of the vehicle and reach safety, stay where you are: seatbelt on, hazards on, headrest against the head restraint, and 999 immediately. Getting out into moving traffic on a lane you cannot see behind you is the most dangerous thing you can do.
National Highways will set a red X over your lane. That red X is a legal instruction to other drivers, and it is also your protection. Their contractor may move the vehicle to a place of safety before a recovery operator takes over — that's normal, and it's the right order of events.
What to tell the recovery operator
Junction numbers either side of you and the direction of travel matter more than anything else. "Between J9 and J10 northbound, in the second refuge after the gantry" gets a driver to you far faster than a postcode, because motorway postcodes are close to useless.
Also say how many passengers you have and whether any children need car seats, so we send a unit with the cab space for everyone. Nobody should be left standing on an embankment while the car goes on ahead.
Safe and off the carriageway?
Once 999 have been called and you're behind the barrier, ring us with the junction numbers and we'll get a unit to you.
Call 03300 435121