What to Do While You Wait for a Tow Truck

Nobody plans to break down. One minute you’re heading home on Highway 95, the next the dash lights up and the engine dies. The few minutes after that, and the half hour or so while you wait, matter more than most people realize. Here’s what our crew wishes every driver knew.

First, get safe

If the vehicle still moves at all, get it out of the travel lanes: onto the shoulder, down an exit ramp, into a parking lot or a side street. Every foot of distance between you and moving traffic counts. Turn on your hazard lights right away, and at night switch on your interior dome light so other drivers can see that someone is in the car.

Then decide whether to stay in the vehicle or get out. There’s no one answer for every situation:

• On a freeway or busy highway shoulder (I-90, US-95), staying buckled in your seat is usually safest. People standing beside a car on a shoulder are at real risk from distracted or sleepy drivers.
• If the vehicle is stuck in a live lane, sitting just past a curve or a hill crest, or there’s smoke or a fuel smell, get everyone out on the side away from traffic, move well away from the road (behind a guardrail if there is one) and stay there.
• In a parking lot or on a quiet street, do whatever is comfortable, but keep kids and pets close.

If you carry reflective triangles, set them out only if you can do it without walking in traffic. Skip road flares if you smell fuel.

Make the call, and give a precise location

The single most useful thing you can give a tow dispatcher is an exact location. “Somewhere past Post Falls” can mean ten miles of road. Better options:

• Mile markers. The small green posts along highways and interstates. Note the direction you were traveling, too.
• Exit numbers and cross streets. “Westbound I-90 just past exit 12” or “Ramsey and Prairie in Hayden.”
• A dropped pin. Open your phone’s map app, press and hold on your location, and text the pin to the tow company. Out on forest roads, where signal comes and goes, send it the moment you have a bar or two.

Then tell them:

• The year, make and model, and whether it’s all-wheel or four-wheel drive
• What happened: won’t start, flat tire, overheated, slid off the road, accident
• Whether the wheels turn, the steering works and it shifts into neutral
• Where you want it to go, and whether someone will be there to receive it
• How many people need a ride, if any (ask whether there’s room in the truck)

Ask for the price and an estimated arrival time before you hang up. A reputable company will give you both. At C.A.R.S. of Idaho we’ll give you an honest arrival window rather than a hopeful one.

Gather what you’ll need

Once your vehicle is on a truck, it may be at a shop or in storage for a few days. Take a minute to collect:

• Your keys, all of them, including the fob. The driver needs the vehicle key, so pull your house keys off the ring if you can.
• Your registration and proof of insurance (or a photo of them)
• Your wallet, phone, charger and any medications
• Child car seats, if the kids are coming with you or getting a ride from someone else
• Garage door openers, gate cards and anything else that would let a stranger into your home
• Laptops, tools, firearms and other valuables

Take a few photos of the vehicle from all four corners, too. If there’s existing damage, a quick record protects everyone.

Staying comfortable in a North Idaho winter

A breakdown in January is a different animal. If you run the engine for heat, first make sure the tailpipe isn’t blocked by snow, since exhaust can back up into the cabin and carbon monoxide is odorless. Run it in short stretches (around ten minutes each hour is a common rule of thumb) and crack a window slightly. Keep a blanket, gloves, water and snacks in the car all winter. More cold-weather tips are in our guide to getting stuck in the snow in North Idaho.

When the tow truck arrives

1. Confirm it’s the company you called. The name on the truck should match. If a different company shows up first, don’t hand over your keys until you’ve confirmed who sent them.
2. Agree on the destination and the price before the vehicle is loaded.
3. Mention anything unusual: a lowered suspension, a body kit, an electronic parking brake, a known leak, or a transmission that won’t go into neutral. Those details help the operator choose the right method. (Here’s why the method matters.)
4. Give the operator room to work. Stand well back from the truck, the winch cable and the road. Hooking up a vehicle on a shoulder is one of the most dangerous moments of the job.
5. Get a receipt that shows where the vehicle is going and what you paid.

Help the people helping you

Tow operators work inches from traffic, and every year some are killed on the roadside. Idaho’s Move Over law (Idaho Code 49-624) requires drivers approaching a stopped tow truck with flashing lights to slow down below the speed limit, and on roads with two or more lanes in their direction, to move out of the lane next to it when it’s safe. When it’s your turn to drive past someone else’s breakdown, return the favor.

Need a hand now?

C.A.R.S. of Idaho answers calls and texts 24/7 for towing and roadside help across Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum and the rest of Kootenai County. Call or text (208) 964-3081 and tell us where you are.

This article is general information about how things usually work in Idaho, not legal advice. Laws change, and your contract or situation may differ. Where we cite the Idaho Code, the official text is at legislature.idaho.gov.