What to do when your car breaks down in London

A car that stops on a busy London road is frightening, especially at night or with children in the back. The good news is that the right steps, taken in the right order, make it far less dangerous. Here they are.

1. Get the car as safe as you can

If the car is still moving, or will restart for a few seconds, use that to get somewhere better:

• Pull into a side street, a lay-by or a car park, as far from moving traffic as you can.
• Avoid stopping on a bend, the brow of a hill, a junction or a bus stop if there’s any choice.
• On a motorway or fast dual carriageway, move left: onto the hard shoulder, into an emergency area, or off at the next junction or services.

Once you’ve stopped, put your hazard lights on. If it’s dark or foggy, keep your sidelights on too, and put the handbrake on.

2. Get yourself safe

Your car can be replaced. You can’t.

• Get everyone out on the side away from the traffic, if it’s safe to do so, and move well away from the car.
• Never stand between the car and the traffic, or behind the car, where other drivers will be looking at it.
• Wear something light or reflective if you have it, especially at night.
• If you can’t get out safely, because the traffic is too close or there’s nowhere to go, stay in the car with your seatbelt on and call 999.

London’s awkward places to break down

Red routes and bus lanes

Red routes are London’s main roads, where stopping is normally banned. A breakdown isn’t your choice, but the car still needs moving quickly. Put your hazard lights on, call for recovery straight away, and keep the recovery invoice in case you need to challenge a penalty notice later.

Tunnels

In a tunnel, switch on your hazard lights, switch off the engine, get out and use the nearest emergency point to call for help. The tunnel operator will usually move the car out to a safe place, and we can take it on from there.

Gyratories and big junctions

Places like Hanger Lane, Vauxhall Cross and the Elephant and Castle have traffic coming from every side. Hazard lights on, and only get out if you can reach a pavement safely. If you’re stuck in the middle of a junction and feel in danger, call 999.

Motorways

The M25 and the motorways into London have their own rules: get behind the barrier, don’t put a warning triangle out, and don’t try repairs. Our page on motorway recovery covers them, and there’s a separate guide to breaking down on a smart motorway.

3. Work out exactly where you are

This is the thing people find hardest under pressure, and it makes the biggest difference to how quickly help arrives.

• Tap “Send my location” on this site. Your phone sends us a map pin by WhatsApp, accurate to a few metres.
• Look for a street name, a house number or a shop name. In a car park, note the level and the bay number.
• On a motorway, read the small blue driver location sign at the roadside, and tell us which way you were heading.

4. Call for recovery

Before you ring, have these to hand if you can:

• Where you are, as precisely as possible
• The car’s make, model, colour and registration
• What happened: warning lights, noises, smoke, a bang, or simply no power
• Whether it’s an automatic, a four-wheel drive, a hybrid or electric
• Whether you have the keys and, if a wheel is damaged, the locking wheel nut key
• How many people need a lift, and where you’d like the car to go

If you have breakdown cover, call your provider first, as recovery may already be included. If they can’t reach you soon, or you don’t have cover, call us and we’ll give you a fixed price and an arrival time.

While you wait

• Stay away from the car and the traffic. Waiting behind a barrier, on a pavement or in a nearby shop is better than sitting in the car.
• Keep your phone charged. Turn off apps you don’t need, and keep the line free for the recovery driver.
• Only hand your car to the company you called. Unrequested recovery trucks do sometimes turn up at breakdowns and accidents. Ask the driver who sent them, and check the name before you hand over the keys.

After the recovery

Keep the invoice. It’s useful for an insurance claim, for expenses, or for challenging a parking or bus lane penalty issued while your car was stuck. And if the same fault keeps coming back, mention every breakdown to your garage: patterns help them find the cause.