We tend to think of getting our cars towed as something that happens if we make a parking mistake, or if we get too many tickets. So, generally, we think of tow trucks as our enemies and try to stay as far away from them as possible.

But what happens if we need a tow? When you Google search “getting car towed,” there are a lot of questions and answers about getting your vehicle out of impound or paying off tickets and the like. There’s not so much about what happens if you break down and need to call for a tow that you actually want, as opposed to some dark midnight operation by the forces of the Law. So, please read on – in this blog are some answers about what you should do if you need to call for a tow, and how to prepare both yourself and your vehicle for that event.

First things first – if your vehicle breaks down, make sure you’re all the way to the side of the road or as far from any traffic as you can be. Make sure your hazard lights are on, and if you have cones, flags, or any other indicators in your vehicle, put them out.

Gather everything you’ll need from your vehicle – not just your stuff, but the registration and insurance paperwork as well as your driver’s license and any roadside assistance membership information, like AAA. These are important to have out, especially when calling for a tow – programs like AAA have their own towing and maintenance vehicles and can be called directly to help, so you’ll need your membership information for that.

If you don’t have a roadside assistance membership, you can call your automaker if your car is still under warranty or your insurance provider, if your insurance includes roadside assistance. If you don’t have any of these, Google can be your friend. Make sure you have information for this saved for the future, though… and maybe consider enrolling in something like AAA.

Now, you wait. Think of where you want your car towed to – your preferred garage or perhaps your dealership – so that you can tell the tow truck driver when they arrive. It might be a while, so make sure you have something to occupy yourself in the meantime. Don’t let anyone besides the tow truck driver or the police approach your vehicle!

When the driver arrives, they’ll guide you through the towing process and might offer you a lift to where you want your vehicle towed to, unless you’ve called someone else to pick you up. From there, your vehicle just needs to get fixed by the people you’ve taken it too.

We hope this article has helped you out – towing doesn’t have to be a scary or expensive process if you know what you’re doing.