What to Do If You Break Down on the Motorway in Ireland

Breaking down on a motorway is stressful, and the hard shoulder is one of the most dangerous places to be on any road. Here is what to do, step by step, if your car or van breaks down on the M6, M4, M17 or any other motorway in Ireland.

1. Try to leave the motorway first

If you notice a warning light, a strange noise or a loss of power, the safest option is to keep going to the next exit or a service area if the vehicle can still move safely. A slip road, a service station or a quiet side road is far safer than the hard shoulder.

2. If you must stop, use the hard shoulder

• Indicate left and pull onto the hard shoulder as far left as you can.
• Turn your wheels to the left, switch off the engine and put your hazard lights on.
• If it is dark or foggy, keep your sidelights on.

3. Get out on the passenger side

Leave the vehicle by the left-hand doors, away from traffic, with all passengers. Put on a hi-vis vest if you have one. Move behind the safety barrier and up the bank if you can, and stand back from the vehicle and the traffic.

4. Do not put out a warning triangle

On a motorway hard shoulder, do not walk back to place a warning triangle. It puts you in the path of fast-moving traffic. Do not try even simple repairs on the hard shoulder either.

5. Work out exactly where you are

Note the motorway number, your direction of travel and the nearest junction. Marker posts at the back of the hard shoulder help you give an exact location, which gets help to you faster.

6. Call for help

• In danger or stuck in a live lane: stay in the car with your seatbelt on and hazards on, and call 999 or 112 immediately.
• Safe on the hard shoulder: call your recovery company. In Galway, Roscommon, Offaly and Westmeath, call MODS 24HR on 085 771 9895, 24 hours a day.

7. Wait safely for the recovery truck

Stay behind the barrier until the recovery driver arrives and tells you it is safe. We will load your vehicle onto the flatbed and take you and your vehicle to a garage, your home or any address you choose.

Quick checklist

1. Exit the motorway if you can.
2. Hard shoulder, far left, hazards on.
3. Out the passenger side, behind the barrier.
4. No warning triangle, no repairs.
5. Note motorway, direction and junction.
6. 999/112 if in danger, otherwise call recovery.

Our trucks cover the M6 and N17 in Galway, the M6 and M4 in Westmeath, and every national and regional road in Roscommon and Offaly.