A car breakdown is one of the most disorienting experiences a driver can have. One moment everything is normal. The next, the engine cuts out, the dashboard lights up, or the steering pulls hard to one side. Whether it happens on a busy interstate, a quiet country road, or in the parking lot of a grocery store, the next few minutes matter — and most drivers have never been trained on what to do.
This guide walks through everything you need to know: how to get to safety, what to do while you wait for help, who to call, what information to have ready, and how to avoid the most common mistakes that turn a manageable breakdown into a dangerous or expensive one. The advice here applies whether you’re an experienced driver or someone who just got their first car.
This guide was written by Roger at Caliber Towing, an 11-year veteran of the towing industry serving Cheatham County and the greater Nashville area in Middle Tennessee. Every recommendation here reflects what actually happens on the side of the road, not just textbook advice.
The First 60 Seconds: Get to Safety
The single most important task during a breakdown is getting yourself and your vehicle out of harm’s way. The vast majority of breakdown-related injuries don’t come from the breakdown itself — they come from other vehicles striking the disabled car or its occupants.
If your vehicle is still moving, take these actions in order:
- Turn on your hazard lights immediately, before you brake. This gives drivers behind you the earliest possible warning.
- Steer toward the right shoulder or, on a two-lane road, toward a driveway, parking lot, or wide spot.
- Get as far off the road as possible. On highways, all four tires should be past the white line, ideally on gravel or grass.
- Don’t slam the brakes. If you’ve lost engine power, coast as far as you can. Brakes still work without engine assist — they’re just heavier and require more pressure.
- Once stopped, turn the front wheels away from traffic so the vehicle won’t roll into the lane if struck or jostled.
If your vehicle has already stopped in a dangerous position — in an active lane, at an intersection, on a curve where visibility is poor — your first call should be to 911, not a tow truck. Police can block traffic and create a safe scene. A tow truck cannot.
Should You Stay in the Vehicle or Get Out?
This is the most consequential decision after a breakdown, and the answer depends entirely on context.
Stay inside the vehicle when:
- You’re on a high-speed road like an interstate or major highway
- Traffic is heavy or moving fast
- It’s nighttime and visibility is poor
- Weather conditions are bad — rain, fog, snow, or ice
- Your vehicle is positioned on a curve, hill, or other low-visibility spot
- You can’t get fully off the road
In any of these situations, the vehicle is the safest place to be. Stay buckled in your seatbelt. Modern cars are designed to absorb impact and protect occupants. Standing outside a disabled vehicle on a busy road is statistically far more dangerous than remaining inside it.
It’s safer to exit when:
- You’re in a parking lot, driveway, or low-traffic side street
- You’ve pulled fully off the road with substantial buffer from traffic
- You smell gas, smoke, or burning rubber, or see any sign of fire
- The vehicle is in a stable position with no risk of rolling or being struck
If you do exit, always do so on the side away from traffic. Get well away from the vehicle and the road. Don’t stand directly in front of or behind the car — if another vehicle strikes yours, you don’t want to be in line with it.
Who to Call and When
After safety is secured, it’s time to call for help. The right call depends on the situation.
Call 911 if:
- Anyone is injured
- The vehicle is in an active traffic lane or other dangerous position
- There’s been a collision
- You see smoke or fire
- You feel personally unsafe for any reason
Call your roadside assistance provider if:
You have AAA, an insurance roadside add-on, or a manufacturer roadside program (Toyota Care, Honda Roadside, BMW Roadside Assistance, Tesla Roadside, etc.). These services dispatch a partnered tow company to you, often at no out-of-pocket cost depending on your coverage tier.
Check your insurance card, your vehicle’s owner manual, or the manufacturer’s mobile app for the right number. Most modern vehicles have this number stored in the connected services menu of the infotainment system.
Call a local tow company directly if:
You don’t have roadside coverage, you need faster service than your provider can offer, or you want to choose the company that handles your vehicle. Calling directly is often faster than going through a roadside network because there’s no dispatcher middleman.
In Middle Tennessee, Caliber Towing serves Cheatham County, the greater Nashville area, and surrounding communities. We can be reached directly at (615) 975-4187 and dispatch 24 hours a day.
Information to Have Ready When You Call
Whether you’re calling 911, roadside assistance, or a local tow company, the same information will get help to you faster:
- Your exact location — mile marker on a highway, closest cross street on a city road, address of the nearest building on a rural road
- The year, make, model, and color of your vehicle
- What happened — engine stopped, tire blew, slid off the road, won’t start, etc.
- Whether the vehicle can be put in neutral
- How many people are with you
- Whether anyone is injured
- A callback number in case the dispatcher loses the connection
If you can’t describe your location precisely, open your phone’s map app and share your location. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps allow you to share a live location pin in seconds. This is the fastest way to get help to a remote breakdown.
How Long Will the Wait Be?
Response time is the second-most-asked question during a breakdown, after cost. The honest answer is that it depends on several factors:
Distance from dispatch
A tow truck’s response time is mostly a function of how far it has to drive. Local independent operators based near you will almost always respond faster than national networks routing through a distant call center.
Time of day
Rush hour adds 15-30 minutes to most responses. Late-night calls often have shorter response times because there’s less traffic, though after-hours rates typically apply.
Weather
Bad weather creates a double problem: response times slow because tow trucks have to drive carefully, and call volume spikes because more vehicles are breaking down or sliding off the road.
Equipment needed
A standard tow with a wheel-lift is faster to dispatch than a flatbed call, a winch-out, or an accident recovery. If your situation requires specialized equipment, expect a slightly longer wait.
A reasonable response time in most metropolitan and suburban areas of the United States is 20-45 minutes for a standard call. Rural areas can stretch to 60-90 minutes. In severe weather, doubling those estimates is realistic.
What to Do While You Wait
Once help is on the way, your job is to stay safe and stay informed. Practical tasks for the waiting period:
- Keep your hazard lights on
- Stay buckled in your seatbelt if you’re inside the vehicle
- Keep your phone charged — use a car charger if your engine is still running
- Have your driver’s license, registration, and insurance card ready
- Decide where you want your vehicle towed (mechanic, dealership, home, body shop)
- Gather personal items you’ll need — phone chargers, garage door openers, prescriptions, work materials, child car seats
- Save the tow company’s dispatch number in your phone in case you need to call back
Do not accept rides from strangers who stop to offer help. Some genuinely want to help. Some do not. Politely thank them and tell them help is already on the way. If anyone makes you uncomfortable, call 911.
Avoid These Common Mistakes
Accepting a tow from a company you didn’t call
Bandit towing is illegal in most states, including Tennessee. A tow truck that arrives unsolicited, especially at an accident scene, may try to pressure you into letting them load your vehicle. They are not legally allowed to do this. You have the right to choose your tow company. If you didn’t call them, they don’t tow you. Get their company name and report the incident to the appropriate state authority.
Not getting the price in writing before the hookup
Verbal quotes can be revised. Ask any tow operator for the total price by text message before the vehicle is loaded. Reputable companies will provide this without hesitation. If a company refuses to put the price in writing, call someone else.
Trying to drive a damaged vehicle
If a tire is shredded, the engine has overheated, the vehicle has been in a collision, or there’s any sign of mechanical failure, do not drive it. Continuing to operate a damaged vehicle can turn a $150 tow into a $3,000-5,000 repair. The cost of the tow is almost always less than the additional damage from limping a broken car home.
Forgetting personal items
Once your vehicle is on the truck, you may not see it again for hours or days depending on where it’s going. Take everything you’ll need: phones, chargers, wallets, garage door openers, prescription medications, child seats, work bags, and any valuables.
Pushing the vehicle yourself
If your car has rolled to a stop in a slightly unsafe spot, the instinct is to push it to safety. Don’t. Modern vehicles are heavier than they look, and pushing on a road with traffic is extremely dangerous. Stay in the vehicle with hazards on. The tow operator can reposition it safely.
What to Expect When the Tow Arrives
When the tow truck arrives, the operator will typically follow this process:
- Confirm your identity and the vehicle
- Assess the situation and decide on the safest loading method
- Inspect the vehicle for pre-existing damage and document it
- Confirm the destination with you
- Confirm the price and payment method
- Load the vehicle — either via wheel-lift or flatbed
- Secure the load and verify everything is stable
- Transport you and the vehicle to the destination
Most light-duty tows take 5-10 minutes to load. Flatbed loading takes slightly longer, typically 10-15 minutes. Accident recovery and winch-outs vary widely depending on the situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first thing to do when your car breaks down?
The first action is to turn on your hazard lights, then steer toward the right shoulder or off the road entirely. Safety comes before any phone call. Once you’re in a safe position, assess whether to stay in the vehicle or exit based on the surrounding traffic and conditions, then call for help.
Should I get out of my car when it breaks down?
Stay in the vehicle if you’re on an interstate, high-traffic road, or any location where exiting would put you closer to traffic. Get out only if you’re in a low-traffic area, fully off the road, or if there’s an immediate danger like smoke or fire. The seatbelted occupant of a stationary vehicle is safer than someone standing next to it on most roads.
Who should I call when my car breaks down?
Call 911 if anyone is injured, your vehicle is in a dangerous position, or there’s been an accident. Otherwise, call your roadside assistance provider (AAA, insurance roadside, or manufacturer roadside) if you have one. If you don’t have coverage or need faster service, call a local tow company directly.
How long does it take for a tow truck to arrive?
Most tow trucks arrive within 20-45 minutes in suburban and metropolitan areas. Rural areas can stretch to 60-90 minutes. Severe weather, rush hour, and remote locations can extend wait times further. Ask the dispatcher for a specific ETA when you call.
Can I call a tow truck if I don’t know where I am?
Yes. Open your phone’s map app and share your location with the dispatcher, or read them your GPS coordinates. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps make this easy. If you have no signal at all, call 911 — they can ping your phone’s location.
What if my car breaks down at night?
Stay in the vehicle with hazards on, doors locked, and seatbelt fastened. Most reputable tow companies operate 24/7. After-hours service usually carries a small premium, but waiting until morning isn’t recommended if you’re stranded somewhere unsafe.
Will my insurance cover a tow?
Only if you have the roadside assistance add-on or if the tow follows a covered accident. Standard liability insurance does not include towing. Check your policy or call your agent to confirm what’s covered before you need it.
Bottom Line
A car breakdown is stressful, but it doesn’t have to be dangerous or expensive. The fundamentals are simple: get to safety first, call the right people with the right information, stay informed during the wait, and avoid the few common mistakes that make things worse. Most breakdowns are resolved within an hour.
Caliber Towing serves Cheatham County, the greater Nashville area, and Middle Tennessee 24 hours a day. Call (615) 975-4187 or text for fast dispatch and a real quote before the truck rolls.
