Most people don’t prepare themselves enough until they are already in the situation in question. However, waiting for that to happen and just winging it out isn’t ideal. The freeway is filled with fast cars and that increases your safety.

So before that happens, it is best to be prepared, at least mentally so you’d know what to do when your car breaks down on the freeway. Safety should be the number one priority. Furthermore, there is also a need to call on a professional wrecker service provider to come to your aid and prevent extensive financial losses or legal ramifications.

The Dangers Of Breakdowns On The Freeway

Breakdowns on the freeway are very dangerous for the driver. Cars pass by at a speed of about 80-100 miles an hour. Such speeds put them at risk. Additionally, some roadside assistance and wrecker service may also have a hard time reaching them on the freeway because such highways could be located in barren places. They could be far away from town and could wait a little longer than usual.

With that, drivers who have their car broken down on the freeway should make sure to take various steps to help with their safety while waiting for help. Although they may be simple steps, they may still require a little preparation, like having your own emergency kit. The items in the kit help improve your visibility so you can easily be spotted by other drivers and the help you called for.

Minimizing Danger On The Freeway

In order to minimize the danger you face on the freeway, you have to make sure that you park your car off the road in case it breaks down. That will move you further from traffic so you’d be a lot safer there than in the middle of the freeway.

The next thing that has to be done is to improve visibility. The more visible you are, the less likely other vehicles would crash into you. Use the hazard lights in your vehicle if you can. If there is no battery power, your emergency kit will come in handy. It should contain flares and other visual aids to help people see your car. This is highly important especially when your car breaks down at night.

It is also best to avoid repairing the vehicle on site. Although a quick change of the flat tire can be performed, other problems may not be easily remedied. It is best to call for help and wait for it to arrive.

Don’t Leave Your Car

It is not a good idea to sit inside a car that’s broken down on the freeway. However, it is also unwise for you to stand beside the car or walk on the side of the road to try to get some help. Walking on the freeway is very dangerous, even if you are on the side of the road. You might accidentally get hit by a car or something can get thrown at you due to a car’s tires.

There can even be instances when you’ve left your car to find help and rescue officials find it abandoned. In such a case, they’d tow away the vehicle for safety purposes. However, you’d be fined for abandonment. Furthermore, extra fees may also be charged by those who towed your vehicle. All these can be avoided if you just called for a tow right away and waited for it patiently in your vehicle.

Professional An Immediate Towing

The best way to handle a car that has broken down on the freeway is to immediately call on a professional towing service provider. You should be ready with their number on your phone just in case. Choose reputable ones that are ready to rescue immediately in case you need them. They can also help talk with the authorities so that they could understand the emergency situation. This could help you refrain from stressing out too much due to your broken-down vehicle.

It takes a solid towing company to stay in business in Greensboro, but Now! Towing Service isn’t any ol’ roadside assistance service.  With over 20 years experience in North Carolina, we know and thing or two about helping stranded motorists in their time of need…

The post Tips To Stay Safe During A Freeway Breakdown appeared first on Now! Towing Service Greensboro North Carolina.

While there often are some differences from year-to-year, most annual breakdowns follow similar patterns, with the causes remaining mostly the same.

So without further ado Virginia Beach, here’ top 5 reasons people called for roadside assistance in 2018:

Battery issues

Over the years modern cars have become incredibly reliable mechanically, however with all the gadgets, wifi, and electric timing the load on your battery can be extremely high.  If you’re not careful, the juice in your battery can deplete quickly.

While a jump from a stranger sometimes does the trick, more often than not we’ve seen people with issues at the terminals.  They’re either corroded, or loosely connect.  If the terminals look caked over with white gunk or rust, clean them off and securely tighten the connection.

Batteries are not overtly delicate but when it stops working, it needs to be replaced, or a connection issue inside your vehicle needs to be understood and fixed. Typically battery issues cannot be fixed by simple tools that can be carried around in a car. It can also be a hazard sometimes if untrained people try to fix batteries on their own the least of which can be getting shocked.

Flat Tire Calls

For one reason or another, flat tire calls increased in 2018.  We say everything from small punctures to dangerous tire blowouts and everything in between.  Perhaps it’s because we had a relatively quite snow season.

Whatever the reason, tire issues are not as terminal as battery trouble, some tire issues can require roadside assistance. Sometimes it can be because there isn’t a spare tire or the spare tire is damaged as well or if the issue is so serious that it cannot be fixed by simply swapping tires out.
Other times multiple tires might be involved or the people in the car might not have the tools or the adequate knowledge to change tires. In all such cases, roadside assistance can and is often the only way out of being stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Putting Together An Roadside Emergency Kit

Getting locked out

We have all been there even if it might be embarrassing to admit. In today’s world of contact-less keys, it can be very easy to leave yourself locked out of the car and the very safety and alarm systems that protect your car from being stolen can turn into a major headache if you find yourself locked out of your car without a way to unlock it.

This situation can be rendered a lot worse if someone is locked inside the car such as a child or a pet who cannot unlock themselves and that can lead to a lot of panic-stricken and dangerous moments.

Roadside assistance in the form of a locksmith is usually the only way out and in 2018 a lot of people needed this type of help.

Starter trouble

Often seemingly a battery issue, a non-working starter can be extremely frustrating to say the least.  While you may be able to simple jump a battery with another vehicle, starter issues often require a new starter (expensive!)

While you may need a new starter long-term, there are ways to get the starter working again, at least to the point of getting you to the repair shop.  First step is to check the joint of all the connecting cables between the battery and the starter. Tighten everything because a loose connection means less flow of current to the starter.

If that doesn’t work sometimes a light tap with a hammer (TIP:  have one in you car’s emergency kit), is enough to jerk the gears into motion.

Running out of fuel

Running out of fuel and needing assistance happened a lot more than most people would imagine and it made up a good portion of our calls in 2018.

This can happen due to a number of reasons. The primary of these is, well, carelessness.  Truth is, people tend to overlook the fuel indicator and try to drive off on near empty fuel tanks – don’t feel bad, we’ve done it ourselves!

Another reason could be people trying to be overly optimistic. Finally, it could be a broke fuel level indicator that leads car owners into a false sense of security as to the amount of fuel left in their cars.

Thankfully, with the help of roadside assistance, people stuck in such unfortunate situations in 2018 didn’t have to push their cars to the nearest fuel station.

The post Top 5 Reasons For Roadside Assistance Calls In 2020 appeared first on Now! Towing Service Greensboro North Carolina.