If you can, get off the road
Try to reach an exit, a services or a safe place if you can do so without making things worse. Follow current National Highways advice, because arrangements on different types of motorway vary.
If you must stop on the road
- Switch on hazard lights.
- Get everyone out of the vehicle by the safest door, away from traffic, and move well away from the carriageway and behind a barrier if there is one.
- Do not stand between the vehicle and traffic.
- Call for help and give your exact location.
- If you cannot get out safely and you are in a live lane, call 999 and follow instructions.
Do not
- Do not try repairs in a live lane.
- Do not put out a warning triangle on a motorway.
- Do not sit in a vehicle that is stopped in a live lane if you can safely leave it.
Prevention
A large share of breakdowns have signs the day before. Daily checks, reported early, turn roadside breakdowns into yard repairs. See the cost of downtime.
General information, not legal advice or a substitute for official guidance. Check HSE, DVSA and GOV.UK for current requirements.
Related
Cost of vehicle downtimeWork out what one vehicle off the road costs you per day, and how catching defects early reduces it. Includes a worked example.Accident and incident reportingA simple process for reporting collisions, near misses and damage: what the driver does at the scene, what the office records and what to learn.