If your car should suddenly break down on the side of the road, it could be a stressful ordeal. The first thing you have to do is to get professional roadside assistance as soon as possible. Once you reach out to a local towing company or emergency service operator, however, a panic response can make it challenging to explain exactly what they need to do in order to come up with a successful rescue.
If a tow truck driver is trying to guess where you are and tow your vehicle with less than the necessary equipment for your particular mechanical issue, he can’t do his job efficiently. Giving clear and precise information from the initial telephone call significantly reduces wait time, reduces confusion and ensures that the appropriate type of assistance vehicle will be dispatched the first time it is required.
This extensive reference guide explains the components of information you need to impart in the event of a roadside incident to ensure quick and easy problem solving.
Pinpoint Your Exact Location and Surroundings
Any towing company will need to know exactly where you are and what you are in the middle of, in order to send the tow. This is not always sufficient, particularly on lengthy, meandering highways, without specifying the name of the highway or town you are in.
Look for Mile Markers and Exit Numbers
In case you get stuck on one of the major interstate highways or state highways, keep an eye out for mile markers, poles and exit numbers. To the dispatch, give the direction of travel (Northbound on Interstate 95, past mile marker 42). This will keep the tow truck from driving down the incorrect side of a divided highway.
Look for Unique Physical identifiers
If you break down on the local city streets or rural back roads, you will be able to see some distinguishing features. Talk about the nearby intersections, cross streets, business storefronts that you can see, road signs, bridges, and rivers. Using a smartphone with a good cell phone signal, open the mapping software, place a digital marker on the map and read the exact GPS coordinates directly to the operator. For a rundown of exactly where it is legal to stop in the first place, our guide on the safest places to pull over at Melbourne intersections is worth reading before trouble strikes.
Specify Your Vehicle’s Make, Model, and Drivetrain
Towing companies have a very wide variety of types of recovery trucks, all the way from wheel-lift wreckers to large, heavy-duty flatbed haulers. The dispatcher needs to match the type of vehicle that you have to the appropriate rig.
State the Full Vehicle Details: Give the operator the exact year, make, model, and trim of your vehicle (e.g., “A 2018 silver Honda CR-V”). The information makes it easier for the incoming driver to see where your car is in the other cars along the long shoulder or in a full parking lot.
The Drivetrain Layout is extremely important and should always be included as to whether your car is front-wheel, rear-wheel, all-wheel or four-wheel drive. This technical information is for the purpose of determining the way your vehicle should be loaded. If the wheels are not lifted off the ground when towing an AWD or 4WD, the central differential and transmission system will be destroyed and an AWD/4WD flatbed is required.
Describe the Nature of the Vehicle’s Failure
The description of the nature of the failure allows the towing crew to make sure they are ready for the physical extraction. It will decide whether they are able to complete the repair at their site or if they need to tow the vehicle.
Mechanical vs. Structural Issues
If the engine simply “cut out,” tell the dispatcher, or if you heard a catastrophic metallic crunch, tell the dispatcher. If the vehicle had a high speed tyre failure and the plastic wheel house linings were completely torn off, or if a minor collision caused a bend in the suspension system, the driver should be aware of this. Damaged suspension parts need to be loaded onto a flatbed using special equipment, such as dollies or skate blocks, to avoid causing additional body damage.
Status of the Wheels and Steering
Explicitly tell the driver if your vehicle can still roll freely and if the steering column turns. If your car is completely in “Park” or the electronic emergency brake is “frozen” or you have lost your car keys altogether, then your wheels are locked. The driver should be aware of this and come up with the necessary equipment to safely load a stationary vehicle onto their truck.
Outline the Safety Context of the Immediate Scene
Roadside safety is a shared responsibility. Providing the tow crew with a description of your surroundings will give them a heads up on what precautions they should take when they arrive. If the vehicle is trapped in a very high speed active lane of traffic, or in a very narrow highway shoulder, be sure to tell the dispatcher. If the situation is deemed to be a high risk, the towing company can call the local police or the highway patrol to request a police cruiser with flashing sirens to block traffic, thus providing a safe physical buffer zone for the towing company.
Note Your Physical Space Restrictions
Do you find yourself in a muddy ditch, far off the pavement? Tall flatbed trucks are not allowed in regular parking structures because of the height restrictions on the levels. In tight areas, a low profile wheel-lift wrecker will be needed. On the other hand, when in mud or snow, the driver should have a long winch cable attached to a truck to pull the vehicle out back onto the road.
Communicate Your Total Passenger Count and Destination
A towing emergency calls for the moving of not just a broken machine, but real human beings that were riding inside it! Securing the car is not the only thing that needs to be planned for passenger safety.
Declare Your Passenger Cargo: Report your number of stranded persons (passenger cargo) to the dispatcher. Most tow truck cabs have just enough room for a driver and one, or possibly two, passengers. If you’re travelling with a large family or group of friends, the towing company will need to arrange for another transportation method, like a local rideshare or taxi, to get everyone off the highway safely.
Set up a Target Destination: Know where you want your vehicle to be taken prior to the tow truck hooking. You can opt for the car to be dropped off at a particular local repair shop, a brand certified dealership service centre or directly in your home driveway. The company will generate an accurate price estimate without any unexpected financial differences at the conclusion of the trip when it is clear what destination is being travelled to.
How to Verify Your Tow Driver Upon Arrival
Because of your safety and your money, it is paramount to verify upon arrival that the tow truck that pulled up to your vehicle is the exact truck that you called. Unauthorized and predatory towing companies, commonly referred to as “bandit towers”, routinely prowl the roads for stranded vehicles on busy roads or in high traffic commercial zones. These drivers will give you a ride immediately, but without your permission and then ask for too much and too little money to free you from a secret location.
To protect yourself, you will want to verify the company name, logo and phone number that are permanently painted or decaled on the doors of the truck right before you sign any paperwork or hand over your car keys:
Confirm the Business Branding: Ensure the company name, logo, and phone number signed on the truck doors are the same as the name of the local towing provider that you contacted.
Ask for Your Ticket Details: Do not approach the driver and ask, “Are you here for John?” Rather ask the driver to read to you what you have told the dispatcher about the problem, the make of the vehicle or the destination you told the driver. A legitimate operator will be able to find these exact details in their digital manifest, or on their mobile service screen.
Request a Written Price Estimate: Make sure that the operator prints or presents a digital invoice to you that specifies the exact hooked rate, mileage charges and storage fees before they hook your chains or drive your car onto a flatbed. When you check these details in advance, you’re 100% protected from the scam at the roadside. If you’d rather sort all of this out before an emergency happens, our team is happy to talk you through it in advance.