A breakdown is stressful enough without also having to figure out what to do in the moment. Having a simple, memorized order of operations makes the first few minutes safer and calmer, whether you're on a quiet side street or a busy highway.
1. Get off the road, not just off the gas
If the car still has any momentum or power, steer as far onto the shoulder or into a parking lot as you safely can — even a few extra feet away from the traffic lane meaningfully reduces risk. Turn hazard lights on immediately, before you've even fully stopped if it's safe to reach the switch.
2. Decide whether to stay in the vehicle
On a highway or high-speed road, most safety guidance recommends staying outside the vehicle, on the side away from traffic, rather than remaining inside where you're vulnerable to being struck. On a quiet residential street, staying in the car with hazards on is usually fine while you sort things out.
3. Make the car visible from a distance
- Hazard lights on immediately, and headlights too if visibility is poor.
- Reflective triangles or road flares behind the vehicle, if you carry them — set well back from the car to give approaching traffic time to react.
- Turn your wheels away from the road if you're on an incline, so the car can't roll into traffic if the brakes fail.
4. Call for help with useful information ready
Whether you're calling roadside assistance, a tow company, or a friend, having your exact location (mile marker, cross streets, or a dropped pin), a description of the problem, and your vehicle's make and model ready speeds everything up considerably compared to figuring it out mid-call.
None of this fixes the car, but it meaningfully reduces the actual risk of a breakdown — which, statistically, is a much bigger concern than the inconvenience of the tow itself.