A calm, step-by-step guide to keeping yourself safe on the hard shoulder while you wait for recovery — including what to do on a smart motorway with no hard shoulder at all.
Breaking down on the A2, the A20 or the M25 is the situation most drivers quietly dread, and with good reason: the hard shoulder is one of the most dangerous places you can stand in this country. The good news is that the actions that keep you safe are simple. Knowing them in advance means you do them automatically instead of freezing.
1. Get off the carriageway if you possibly can
The moment you sense a problem — a warning light, a noise, a loss of power — start planning your exit. If you can reach the next junction or services, take it. If not, move left as early as you can while you still have momentum. A car that coasts onto the hard shoulder is in a far better position than one that stops in lane three.
2. Position the car properly
Pull as far to the left as possible and angle the front wheels to the left. If the car is struck from behind, that angle pushes it away from the traffic rather than into it. Hazard lights on immediately, and sidelights too if it is dark or visibility is poor.
3. Get out — through the left-hand doors
Everyone leaves the vehicle on the passenger side, never the driver's side. Take your phone and something warm. Then get up the bank or through the gap in the barrier and wait there, well back from the carriageway.
The one exception is if you cannot get out safely — for example you are in a live lane with traffic passing. In that case stay belted in, hazards on, and call 999 straight away.
4. Leave animals in the car
It feels wrong, but a frightened dog loose on a motorway verge is a danger to itself, to you and to traffic. Leave pets in the vehicle with a window slightly open unless there is a fire risk.
5. Do not put out a warning triangle
The Highway Code specifically advises against warning triangles on motorways. Walking back down the hard shoulder to place one puts you in exactly the position you are trying to get out of.
6. Work out exactly where you are
The marker posts every 100 metres carry a number and an arrow pointing to the nearest emergency telephone. On a mobile, look for a driver location sign — a small blue sign showing the road number, a direction letter and a distance in kilometres. Reading that out to us is worth ten minutes of "somewhere past the turning for Dartford".
Smart motorways and the M25
Where there is no hard shoulder, aim for an emergency refuge area — the orange bays with an SOS phone. If you cannot reach one and you are stranded in a live lane, keep your seatbelt on, put your hazards on and call 999 immediately so the lane can be closed by the overhead gantry. Do not attempt to get out and cross live lanes.
The Dartford Crossing
If you break down in the tunnel or on the QEII bridge, stay in the vehicle, put your hazards on and wait — the crossing is monitored constantly and the control room will reach you very quickly. Do not attempt to walk out.
When we arrive
Our driver rings you as they approach. Stay behind the barrier until they tell you it is safe to move. Loading takes a few minutes and we would much rather you spent those minutes somewhere safe.
Broken down right now? Call 07961 100260. We answer twenty-four hours a day and you will have a fixed price and a realistic arrival time before you hang up.
