WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CAR BREAKS DOWN ON THE ROAD

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WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CAR BREAKS DOWN ON THE ROAD

Admin • Nov 10, 2019

Car Breakdown | Indianapolis, IN | HIX Wrecker Service, Inc.

At some point in your life, you will most likely experience a break down with your vehicle and have to decide what to do. You should be prepared for any emergency. If you know what to do when your car breaks down, you can stay safe and address the car's problems effectively.

GET OFF THE ROAD

At the first sign of a breakdown, get the car off the road and to a safe place. You may not be able to drive very far with the car, but if the road has a shoulder, use it. The further off the road you can get, the safer the situation will be.

If your car breaks down on a corner, try to move the car off the corner. It is harder for oncoming traffic to see you on a corner, and this is worse at night. If you are on a highway, try to get off an exit if there is one close. If there is not an exit near you, get as far off the road as you can.

ALERT ONCOMING TRAFFIC

One of the best ways to keep from getting hit on the side of the road is to let people know you are there. Carrying some roadside reflective triangles is a good practice. If you break down, place the triangles on the shoulder about ten feet behind your car to let drivers know you are there. If you have additional triangles, place them one to two hundred feet behind the car for early warning to other drivers.

Turn on your emergency flashers to get other motorist's attention, and hang a white cloth on the driver's window to signal that the car is not functional. You may also want to open the hood. An open hood is a universal sign of a disabled vehicle and can help alert drivers as they approach.

CALL FOR HELP

Sometimes you can call a family member for help with your car repair, but more than likely you are going to need a tow company to come and move the car off the road. If you have a regular mechanic that you use, call them first and see if they can come get your car. If you don't have a preferred shop, you can call any local tow company to come assist you.

If you are a member of an auto club or roadside assistance club, call them. The club can help arrange a tow for you, and many times it is covered by the club, not you. You may want to look under the hood and see if you can tell what is wrong so you can let the tow company know when you call them.

If you don't know anything about cars, you might be better to let the tow operator look at the car when they arrive.

SEEK REPAIRS

While people commonly try to fix their car road side, you should not. You can't see traffic coming at you while you under the hood or working under the car. Even if the repair is very minor, get the car off the road before you attempt any repairs.

You may be able to push the car into a parking lot or onto a side road and make it safer to work on the car, but pushing the car can be dangerous, so use caution if you try this.

At Hix Wrecker Service, Inc., we have over 50 years of experience in the towing business. We can help get your car off the road, change a tire, handle lockouts, or tow your car to the repair shop for you. Give us a call and we will send a truck out right away and get your car home safely.

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