Breakdown Problem
Broken Down on a Motorway or Smart Motorway
Motorway breakdowns are the only ones where the recovery is the least urgent part. Getting you out of the vehicle and behind a barrier comes first, National Highways comes second, and we come third — and that order is not negotiable on a smart motorway where there's no hard shoulder to hide on.
What you're likely seeing
- Vehicle stopped on the hard shoulder
- Vehicle in an emergency refuge area (ERA) on a smart motorway
- Vehicle stranded in a live running lane — the most dangerous scenario
- Limping at low speed with hazards on, looking for the next exit
Do this before anything else
- 1Get out of the nearside doors, climb the barrier, and stand well back and behind it — up the embankment if there is one.
- 2Leave the hazard lights on and the steering wheels turned to the left.
- 3Call 999 and ask for National Highways. On a smart motorway they can close the lane above you with the gantry signs. Do this before you call a recovery firm.
- 4Do not attempt any repair, not even a wheel change, on a live carriageway.
On a motorway or dual carriageway, ring 999 and ask for National Highways before you call any recovery company. Motorway breakdown advice →
How we move the vehicle
Once the scene is safe and National Highways have marshalled you to a refuge or the hard shoulder, we uplift the vehicle and take you and your passengers off the network — usually to the nearest junction or services in the first instance, then on to your destination. Where the vehicle is in a live lane, National Highways' own contractor may move it to a place of safety first; we take it from there.
What it costs
Recovery from the motorway network is priced on the uplift plus the distance to your destination, quoted before dispatch. There's no night or weekend surcharge, which matters because most of these calls come in at unsociable hours.
Full recovery cost guideQuestions we get asked
The service you probably need
Worth reading
Other problems we're called to
Tell us what the car is doing
Describe the fault on the phone and we'll tell you honestly whether this is a roadside fix or a recovery — and what it will cost — before a driver leaves.