Traveling is one of the greatest joys in life. It allows you to see wonderful places for the first time and meet new faces. Over the years, the fun that comes with traveling has evolved greatly. People no longer focus on the excitement of merely reaching the desired destination; the actual trip between the point of origin to the destination has been made into a pleasurable experience in its own right.
In some places, the roads that you drive through too quickly get to your intended destination are now “accessorized” with lovely regional restaurants, small amusement parks, outlet malls, and even charming vineyards. With all of these, suffering a vehicle breakdown has ceased to be an incredibly worrisome experience.
If a vehicle happens to breaks down where all these establishments are located, many consider it a blessing because they can actually rest, refuel or even explore a little in the meantime.
But the thing is, whiling away time in these areas when your truck has broken down won’t completely take care of the problem. So, what is the best way to deal with the situation?
Here are some tips for properly managing a roadside breakdown wherever on a highway you may be.
1. Move your truck somewhere safe.
If you drive an automatic, you will need to call an emergency road service provider to move the vehicle to a safer place for you. It’s imperative to get off the busy road because your vehicle will cause traffic.
The same procedure may be the smart thing to do as well if your truck has a manual transmission and you’re afraid you can’t push the vehicle off the road safely. If you’re feeling daring, however, get the truck onto the hard shoulder and take it as far to the left as you can to avoid all traffic.
2. Turn your hazard warning lights on and bring out your emergency marker reflective triangle.
This will alert oncoming vehicles that there’s a non-moving truck on the side of the road that they might hit. The lights will also help the roadside truck repair company that you’ve called to quickly locate your truck.
If there’s low visibility on the road, do keep your sidelights on as well. In addition, make sure that you don’t put the warning triangle on the hard shoulder.
3. Don’t stand outside while waiting for roadside assistance.
If you’re waiting for the mobile roadside repair service, stay in your truck. This is the safest thing to do.
During repair, however, you have the option to stay in your vehicle or head for the nearest commercial establishment you can find. If you opt for the latter, make sure to leave your mobile phone number with the truck repair service, and do not leave any valuables in the vehicle.
4. If the truck breaks down in a completely isolated area of the highway during an ungodly hour, call 911.
Can’t reach roadside assistance right away? Feeling scared in the area where you’re stuck? Call 911. They will dispatch police officers who can take you somewhere safe. This is a must, especially if you’re traveling with kids and you just don’t feel safe where your truck broke down.
5. While waiting for the repair to be completed, look for apps that will help you manage the same situation better in the future.
There’s currently an abundance of road assistance apps available for smartphones. Perhaps the most popular apps are those that provide instructions for getting you to your destination and those that provide information on establishments you need nearby.
Basically, they’re like concierge services that cover everything from information on traffic jams and other conditions on the road to all the available roadside assistance services for various areas.
Although highways are way safer than they used to be, it’s still rather important to know how to correctly handle a vehicle breakdown. When a big vehicle such as a truck stops running in the middle of the road, all sorts of traffic complications may occur. By knowing the right way to deal with the situation, you get to protect not only yourself but the other motorists as well.
Hopefully, in the future, there’ll be more advanced technology available to assist vehicles that have broken down. Everybody’s looking forward to, for example, a tracking camera system that will automatically spot vehicles on the road having trouble and can deploy the nearest emergency roadside assistance service. For now, however, these roadside breakdown tips are your best bet.
