What to do after a breakdown on the interstate
2026-06-09 · 6 minute read
An interstate stall is a traffic hazard, not a parking problem. Your job is to get people out of live lanes. Our job is to load the car without making the scene worse.
If you can still roll
If the car still moves, get it onto the shoulder or the next exit. A travel-lane stall on an urban interstate is how secondary crashes start. Hazard lights on. Everyone who can safely exit should stand behind the barrier, not at the rear bumper taking photos. If you cannot roll, stay belted if there is no safe place to stand.
What to tell dispatch
Direction of travel, last exit or mile marker, and whether you are on the left shoulder, right shoulder, or in a lane. That last detail changes staging. A left-shoulder stall on a barrier-separated HOV is a different truck path than a right-shoulder stall with a ten-foot breakdown lane. City pages on this site note where shoulders disappear — tunnels, viaducts, downtown stacks — because that is when we need police or DOT before we hook.
Do not stand between the car and traffic
Wait ahead of the vehicle, behind a barrier if one exists. The wrecker will take space you do not expect. If an officer is already on scene, we work their box, not yours. That wait is not a delay fee we invent; it is how you avoid a second impact.