Experiencing a car breakdown in Sydney is stressful, especially on busy roads like Parramatta Road, the M4 or the approaches to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. With fast-moving traffic, limited space to pull over and other drivers who may not notice your vehicle until the last moment, a breakdown can quickly become dangerous.
If you find yourself in this situation, there are a few simple steps you can take to stay safe while arranging help for your vehicle.
1. Make Yourself Visible
As soon as you notice something wrong with your vehicle, switch on your hazard lights to alert other drivers. If your car is still moving, try to steer towards the left and pull into a road shoulder, emergency stopping lane or nearby side street where it is safe to stop.
Try to avoid stopping on a bend, at the crest of a hill or inside a tunnel if you can safely continue to a better location. If you’re driving at night or visibility is poor, keep your parking lights on to make your vehicle easier for other drivers to see.
2. Get Everyone Somewhere Safe
The safest place to wait during a breakdown on a busy road is usually away from your vehicle and passing traffic. If it’s safe to exit, have everyone get out through the passenger-side doors and wait behind a safety barrier or well away from the road.
Avoid standing between your vehicle and passing traffic, and never attempt to inspect or repair your car from the side exposed to moving vehicles. If it’s unsafe to get out, remain inside with your seatbelt fastened and hazard lights flashing until assistance arrives.
If anyone is injured or your vehicle is creating a serious hazard for other road users, call 000 for emergency assistance.
3. Follow the Directions of Incident Response Crews
Many of Sydney’s major motorways and tunnels are monitored by traffic cameras, allowing incident response crews to quickly respond to breakdowns and keep traffic moving.
If an incident response crew arrives, it’s important to follow their directions. They may need to move your vehicle to a safer location before a tow truck can transport it to your preferred destination.
4. Arrange a Tow
While waiting for roadside assistance to inspect and repair your vehicle may be an option on a quiet suburban street, every minute you spend broken down on a busy road can put you and other motorists at risk.
If your vehicle is showing signs of a serious mechanical problem, such as smoke, overheating, loud grinding noises, warning lights or an engine that won’t restart, arranging a tow truck is the quickest and safest way to get your vehicle off the road.
5. Have Your Details Ready
When calling for a tow, providing the right information will help the towing team locate you and dispatch the most suitable truck for your vehicle. Try to have the following details ready:
- Your exact location, including the road name, direction of travel and nearest cross street or motorway exit.
- Your vehicle’s make and model, so the towing team can arrange a suitable truck.
- What happened, including whether your car can still roll and steer.
- Where you’d like your vehicle taken, whether that’s your home, a mechanic or our secure depot.
Why Local Towing Makes a Difference
Combined Towing has been helping Sydney motorists with breakdowns and vehicle recovery for over 50 years. With more than 50 trucks operating across three depots, GPS tracking on every truck and a dedicated 24/7 dispatch room, we can send the closest suitable truck to your location rather than dispatching one from across the city.
Our experienced drivers know Sydney’s busiest roads well and have the experience to carry out safe vehicle recovery with minimal disruption to surrounding traffic.
Broken Down on a Busy Sydney Road?
If you’ve experienced a car breakdown in Sydney and need reliable breakdown assistance, Combined Towing is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to get your vehicle to safety.
Call 02 9319 3434 any time, day or night, or request a quote online and we’ll call you straight back.
