Broken down on the motorway? What to do

Your safety comes first

If you break down or get a flat tyre on a motorway, getting yourself and your passengers safe matters more than the car. Never try to change a wheel on the hard shoulder or in a live lane.

If you can, keep going to safety

1. Switch on your hazard lights.
2. If the car can still move, leave at the next exit or pull into a services.
3. On a smart motorway with no hard shoulder, get to an emergency area if you can. They're marked with blue signs and an orange SOS symbol.
4. If you can't, stop on the hard shoulder or as far left as possible.

Once you've stopped

1. Keep your hazard lights on. At night or in poor visibility, keep your sidelights on too.
2. Get out on the left-hand side, away from the traffic, if it's safe to do so. Take everyone with you, and leave animals in the car.
3. Wait behind the safety barrier, up the bank if you can. Don't stand between the car and the traffic.
4. Don't put a warning triangle on the motorway.
5. Call for help. For recovery or a mobile tyre fitter, call us on 0330 043 6598 and tell us which motorway, which direction and the number on the nearest marker post.

If you stop in a live lane

If you can't get out safely, or you've stopped in a live lane, stay in the car with your seatbelt on and hazards on, and call 999 straight away.

When you're ready to rejoin

Build up speed on the hard shoulder before joining the traffic, and watch for gaps. In an emergency area on a smart motorway, call National Highways on 0300 123 5000 first, as they may need to close a lane for you.

How we help

We're a fully mobile service. We can recover your car from the motorway, or fit a new tyre once you're somewhere safe to work, such as a services or the next junction. See motorway breakdown recovery.