Breaking down on a motorway can be a scary experience. We've put together a list of practical steps to take to keep you and your passengers safe. It just might be worth printing off and keeping a copy in your car Print version

Click here to see our comprensive Car Breakdown cover

 If your car develops a problem try to either leave the motorway at the next exit or pull into a Motorway Service Area, whichever is the nearest, and then call for assistance.

If you can’t leave the motorway pull onto the hard shoulder and stop as far to the left as possible. Turn your wheels to the left

If possible try to stop near an Emergency Roadside Telephone. These are located at approximately one mile intervals along the hard shoulder.

Make your car as noticeable as possible by putting on the sidelights and hazard warning lights. If visibility is seriously reduced, (generally when you can’t see for more than 100 metres), turn on your rear fog lights.

You and any passengers should try to exit the car by the nearside doors, and keep as far away from the traffic lanes as possible when doing so. It is advisable to leave any animals in the car. Keep children under control when they are out of the vehicle.

You are the best person to make decisions about your own safety, and the safety of your passengers, however the RAC advise that you wait as far away from your vehicle as possible. If there is a safety barrier nearby, then move behind it but only if it is safe to do so.

Do not attempt even simple repairs; attempting to repair your vehicle on the hard shoulder is highly dangerous, particularly on the side of the vehicle nearest the traffic.

When calling for assistance use the Emergency Roadside Telephones if you can. These are linked direct to either a Highways Agency Control Centre or a Police Control Room, allowing them to pinpoint your exact location and get help to you quickly.

A blue and white marker post is placed every 100 metres at the edge of the hard shoulder, which has an arrow indication the direction of the nearest Emergency Roadside Telephone.

When walking along the hard shoulder to or from an Emergency Roadside Telephone, always keep as far away from the traffic lanes as possible. Be aware of oncoming traffic at all times.

If you use your mobile phone to call for assistance before calling try and identify your exact location. Use the marker post numbers or any visible motorway signs to help identify where you are.

Try and provide as much information as you can regarding your location, the possible cause of the breakdown, the number of passengers and any special requirements that you may have. E.g. young children with you or a disabled person as driver/passenger.

Return to your vehicle and continue to wait, along with any passengers in a place of safety, well away from your vehicle, for assistance to arrive. At all times be aware of the oncoming traffic.

If you’re alone and feel in anyway threatened then return to your car and wait in the front passenger seat with the doors locked and the seat belt on. When you feel it’s safe, get out of your vehicle and go back to the safe place well away from your car.

If for any reason you can’t get out of your vehicle, try and sit in the front passenger seat with the seat belt on. If there are any passengers who can’t get out of the vehicle, they should also be seated wherever possible on the nearside of the vehicle, with their seatbelts on.

When assistance arrives, continue to wait well away from your vehicle. Let the breakdown / recovery technician approach you and show some identification. Follow their instructions regarding what actions to take. If possible continue to wait well away from your vehicle until it has been repaired or loaded onto the recovery vehicle.

If the technician is able to repair your vehicle, then rejoin the motorway using the hard shoulder as an acceleration lane. Only merge with the traffic in lane one when you have reached a similar speed and there is a gap in the traffic that will allow you to do so safely

If you don't have current breakdown cover click here for our car Breakdown cover