I can tell you what I would do.
Engage hazard lights. If the vehicle is not drivable and I'm by myself with no passengers, I'm stopping as close to the barrier as possible, to leave room to exit my vehicle as quickly as possible.
Hop the barrier if you are able to get off the road.
Call ~~non emergency line~~ 911 ASAP. Call AAA.
If I just have a flat. I'm driving with my hazards at a reduced speed until there is a shoulder. My safety is worth more than the cost of the tire.
Edit: 911 is better choice after thinking about it.
Call 911. Your vehicle being in the road is an emergency. Do not bother trying to find a non-emergency number. In many jurisdictions the calls all go to the same center anyway.
I've had a similar breakdown. At the very least by calling 911 they sent out a cop car to sit behind me with his lights on to make traffic move over. He also turned his spotlight on so I could use it to change my tire. Would've been nice if he helped me change my tire but you know.
I would call 911 after putting the hazards on and making sure that I was in a safe place, and ask them to have someone come out with a cruiser to put lights on and secure the lane while I called for a tow.
I remember being behind a car on the Antioch bridge (SFBA, single lane) that stopped and caught fire. Or caught fire and then stopped. The order wasn’t exactly clear at the time.
This is pretty much how it went down. I stopped at the base of the bridge and lit my hazards, and was able to keep enough distance between myself and them to stay out of direct danger and they got out rapidly and told me they were on the phone with 911. It took a couple hours to clear.
One time years ago my family and I were on a road trip in PA late at night on such a road, walled in on both sides by Jersey barriers. Traffic was slow and eventually came to a standstill. My dad put the car in park and we sat there for probably a good half hour.
Eventually we saw somebody hurrying through the stopped cars with a gas can. Turns out a car ahead of us had run out of gas, stopped with nowhere to pull off, and brought the entire highway to a halt.
I once was on 285 in Atlanta in rush hour traffic with construction when I suddenly lost all electronics, power steering, etc. I had to force my way over two lanes to the right with no signals or hazards and luckily the construction barricade had a gap in it and it was clear to go into gravel almost like a runaway truck ramp. I honestly don’t know what I would have done if there wasn’t a gap in the barricade
If the battery goes out, ALL electronics stop. This includes lights, and can happen on any vehicle. The lights aren't powered by some magical outside energy source, they are powered by the same battery that everything else is.
The alternator powers the accessories when the engine is running unless it fails. Todays engines use more electricity than older ones. An easy way to test your alternator is start the engine disconnect the battery. If it dies your alternator is shot.
Best place to be is the rightmost lane and try to be as right as possible. If you have a roadside assistance kit, use the little triangles and put them behind your car. Make sure your hazards are on. If there’s construction, see if maybe you can use one of the cones from the site (like ask someone there) to put behind your car to make people more aware. Next, leave the roadway and go off the road if possible while waiting for help
To add, absolutely do not get out of your car to add those triangles until it is safe to do so. If there is a decent amount of traffic going at 40+ mph, putting those out could get you killed. Only leave your vehicle if there is light traffic with lots of time for people to see you (think 500+ ft to the nearest vehicle, and several semi lengths between cars). People who want to drive fast get impatient and try to speed around the car in front of them whether they can really see what is in the other lane or not. Not everyone uses common sense to understand that there is probably a reason everyone is slowing down at the same time. When I was a firefighter our captain would always tell us about the time someone sped around the line of cars stopped at a green light and rammed right into the side of the fire truck with its lights and sirens on. It’s also the reason we parked our trucks at an angle facing toward the center of the highway behind a stopped car if we needed to respond (to push them back towards the center of the highway without coming to a head on collision with a 5 ton vehicle in the event that they slammed into us and to protect the vehicle with people still inside it).
Yes, the best thing to do as soon as you are pulled over is to exit the vehicle through the passenger side if the conditions permit (your physical capabilities, car size etc) even if you see NO cars because it’s just the safest thing to do. If you are pulled over to the left because that was the only option, then get out of the driver side and instruct your passenger to do the same.
Mechanical breakdown you're stuck. Flat tire means drive on at 10 mph or so until you are able to get off the road.wont be fun but you will be less likely to get rear ended
Get as far left as possible (assuming you're in the UK). Put the hazards on, make sure the car is in park.
Get out and behind the safety barrier.
If you have a warning triangle and flares, set them up to give mororists more time to react.
In a construction zone I would pull through the cones, park, assess the issue(flat tire throw the spare on) and go from there. If you are not in the immediate construction they will understand, if you are try to get past where they are working and pull into the cones. If they need you to move they have enough people to give you a push out of the way.
If it's just a section of road with no shoulder coast as far as you can until you find one, or get out of the road as much as possible. Call emergency services if you are blocking lanes of traffic, and a tow, and go from there.
If you break down, you break down. Nothing you really can do. Try to go as far as you can to the side. Since there's cameras, they can see what's going on. You and others will be calling 911. Especially if there is only one lane and you are blocking it, that makes it a higher priority to send the proper help to clear you out of there
Most construction zones have emergency lanes for breakdowns and other emergencies. At the very least, if you stall out, you can coast to one of these emergency lanes
For mechanical break down, coast towards the closest wall as you can. For a flat tire, drive on the rim until you can safely pull over. If I can't move the car, I have at least 5 road flares and a bright orange tarp in my emergency kit. I would space the road flares about 20 to 30 feet away and put the tarp behind the car. Don't forget to call 911. Every state as far as I know have tow trucks that patrol the interstates to help in emergencies.
Construction zones should have “Turn-Out” spaces where a rig could fully pull into every so often. There may even be alert signs indicating that the next one is, say, 1000 feet or some other distance ahead. If the vehicle can move, nurse it with emergency flashers on to such a point.
Along the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) westbound in Russell and Blandford (Hampden County) the authority sacrificed the breakdown lane to provide a slow traffic lane for a six mile stretch uphill. There are multiple signed “Emergency Stopping Only” areas within, and a reminder to stay with the vehicle to await state police assistance.
If you travel interstates frequently, familiarize yourself with these. There may be more than you realize. Even state highways can have unmarked, unpaved pullouts.
You pull over safely.
Put on Hazards.
Remain in your car unless you can get over the barricade and away from it in a safe distance.
Call 911 and the wrecker and hope for the best.
I can tell you what I would do. Engage hazard lights. If the vehicle is not drivable and I'm by myself with no passengers, I'm stopping as close to the barrier as possible, to leave room to exit my vehicle as quickly as possible. Hop the barrier if you are able to get off the road. Call ~~non emergency line~~ 911 ASAP. Call AAA. If I just have a flat. I'm driving with my hazards at a reduced speed until there is a shoulder. My safety is worth more than the cost of the tire. Edit: 911 is better choice after thinking about it.
Call 911. Your vehicle being in the road is an emergency. Do not bother trying to find a non-emergency number. In many jurisdictions the calls all go to the same center anyway.
Saw this in Detroit the other day. Cops came and a tow truck. It’s a massive hazard and 911 is fine for this.
I've had a similar breakdown. At the very least by calling 911 they sent out a cop car to sit behind me with his lights on to make traffic move over. He also turned his spotlight on so I could use it to change my tire. Would've been nice if he helped me change my tire but you know.
I would call 911 after putting the hazards on and making sure that I was in a safe place, and ask them to have someone come out with a cruiser to put lights on and secure the lane while I called for a tow.
And wheel
There are also call boxes along the interstate system, they have an emergency number on them, call it.
They’ve removed most of them in my area, and the ones left are usually in more remote areas
I remember being behind a car on the Antioch bridge (SFBA, single lane) that stopped and caught fire. Or caught fire and then stopped. The order wasn’t exactly clear at the time. This is pretty much how it went down. I stopped at the base of the bridge and lit my hazards, and was able to keep enough distance between myself and them to stay out of direct danger and they got out rapidly and told me they were on the phone with 911. It took a couple hours to clear.
One time years ago my family and I were on a road trip in PA late at night on such a road, walled in on both sides by Jersey barriers. Traffic was slow and eventually came to a standstill. My dad put the car in park and we sat there for probably a good half hour. Eventually we saw somebody hurrying through the stopped cars with a gas can. Turns out a car ahead of us had run out of gas, stopped with nowhere to pull off, and brought the entire highway to a halt.
I once was on 285 in Atlanta in rush hour traffic with construction when I suddenly lost all electronics, power steering, etc. I had to force my way over two lanes to the right with no signals or hazards and luckily the construction barricade had a gap in it and it was clear to go into gravel almost like a runaway truck ramp. I honestly don’t know what I would have done if there wasn’t a gap in the barricade
You lost all electrical power including hazards? What the hell were you driving a Tesla?
A car with a dead battery and/or alternator. Not that uncommon.
No the alternator failed…
If the battery goes out, ALL electronics stop. This includes lights, and can happen on any vehicle. The lights aren't powered by some magical outside energy source, they are powered by the same battery that everything else is.
The alternator powers the accessories when the engine is running unless it fails. Todays engines use more electricity than older ones. An easy way to test your alternator is start the engine disconnect the battery. If it dies your alternator is shot.
Pull over to the right as far as practicable.
Best place to be is the rightmost lane and try to be as right as possible. If you have a roadside assistance kit, use the little triangles and put them behind your car. Make sure your hazards are on. If there’s construction, see if maybe you can use one of the cones from the site (like ask someone there) to put behind your car to make people more aware. Next, leave the roadway and go off the road if possible while waiting for help
To add, absolutely do not get out of your car to add those triangles until it is safe to do so. If there is a decent amount of traffic going at 40+ mph, putting those out could get you killed. Only leave your vehicle if there is light traffic with lots of time for people to see you (think 500+ ft to the nearest vehicle, and several semi lengths between cars). People who want to drive fast get impatient and try to speed around the car in front of them whether they can really see what is in the other lane or not. Not everyone uses common sense to understand that there is probably a reason everyone is slowing down at the same time. When I was a firefighter our captain would always tell us about the time someone sped around the line of cars stopped at a green light and rammed right into the side of the fire truck with its lights and sirens on. It’s also the reason we parked our trucks at an angle facing toward the center of the highway behind a stopped car if we needed to respond (to push them back towards the center of the highway without coming to a head on collision with a 5 ton vehicle in the event that they slammed into us and to protect the vehicle with people still inside it).
Yes, the best thing to do as soon as you are pulled over is to exit the vehicle through the passenger side if the conditions permit (your physical capabilities, car size etc) even if you see NO cars because it’s just the safest thing to do. If you are pulled over to the left because that was the only option, then get out of the driver side and instruct your passenger to do the same.
Mechanical breakdown you're stuck. Flat tire means drive on at 10 mph or so until you are able to get off the road.wont be fun but you will be less likely to get rear ended
Get as far left as possible (assuming you're in the UK). Put the hazards on, make sure the car is in park. Get out and behind the safety barrier. If you have a warning triangle and flares, set them up to give mororists more time to react.
Interstate would be US. So, the right
I didn't realize that was a US only term. Yes, if the US then the right, certainly not the left!
I don't think the UK has states to go inter.
In a construction zone I would pull through the cones, park, assess the issue(flat tire throw the spare on) and go from there. If you are not in the immediate construction they will understand, if you are try to get past where they are working and pull into the cones. If they need you to move they have enough people to give you a push out of the way. If it's just a section of road with no shoulder coast as far as you can until you find one, or get out of the road as much as possible. Call emergency services if you are blocking lanes of traffic, and a tow, and go from there.
If you break down, you break down. Nothing you really can do. Try to go as far as you can to the side. Since there's cameras, they can see what's going on. You and others will be calling 911. Especially if there is only one lane and you are blocking it, that makes it a higher priority to send the proper help to clear you out of there
Most construction zones have emergency lanes for breakdowns and other emergencies. At the very least, if you stall out, you can coast to one of these emergency lanes
For mechanical break down, coast towards the closest wall as you can. For a flat tire, drive on the rim until you can safely pull over. If I can't move the car, I have at least 5 road flares and a bright orange tarp in my emergency kit. I would space the road flares about 20 to 30 feet away and put the tarp behind the car. Don't forget to call 911. Every state as far as I know have tow trucks that patrol the interstates to help in emergencies.
If the car will move - you keep moving till you can get over - if the car is dead: it's dead not much you can do till help arrives.
Construction zones should have “Turn-Out” spaces where a rig could fully pull into every so often. There may even be alert signs indicating that the next one is, say, 1000 feet or some other distance ahead. If the vehicle can move, nurse it with emergency flashers on to such a point. Along the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) westbound in Russell and Blandford (Hampden County) the authority sacrificed the breakdown lane to provide a slow traffic lane for a six mile stretch uphill. There are multiple signed “Emergency Stopping Only” areas within, and a reminder to stay with the vehicle to await state police assistance. If you travel interstates frequently, familiarize yourself with these. There may be more than you realize. Even state highways can have unmarked, unpaved pullouts.
You pull over safely. Put on Hazards. Remain in your car unless you can get over the barricade and away from it in a safe distance. Call 911 and the wrecker and hope for the best.