Broken Down On the m27 or a3m what to do first

If your vehicle develops a problem on the M27 or A3(M), the immediate priority is the risk from traffic. Leave at the next exit or reach a service area if possible. If you cannot, move left towards an emergency area or hard shoulder where available and switch on your hazard lights. Do not continue driving a vehicle that cannot safely get there.

If you cannot reach a place of relative safety and cannot get out safely, keep your seat belt and hazard lights on and call 999 for the police. Follow the operator’s instructions. The Highway Code’s breakdown guidance explains the official steps and the different circumstances in full.

If you can leave the vehicle safely

Exit on the side away from traffic only where it is safe and possible, and ensure passengers do the same. Move well away from the vehicle and traffic, behind a barrier where available, while watching for hazards beyond it. Do not stand where your car could be pushed into you. Keep children under control and follow instructions from emergency responders.

Do not attempt a motorway repair or place a warning triangle on the motorway. A wheel change, battery check or attempt to investigate a noise can wait for an appropriate safe setting. Once you have reached a safer waiting position, do not return to the car because the weather is uncomfortable. The AA’s motorway safety guide provides further explanation of the risks around stopped vehicles.

Use the emergency help appropriate to your position

Use the free emergency telephone where available to obtain advice and assistance. Under Highway Code rule 277, if you cannot exit your vehicle or have not stopped near a free emergency telephone, call 999 immediately and ask for the police. If a disability prevents you following the usual exit advice, remain belted in with hazards on and call 999.

Explain your actual position and any difficulty affecting you or your passengers. Follow the instructions you receive rather than treating a general webpage as a complete assessment of a live incident. Contacting a private recovery business does not replace emergency assistance, close a lane or authorise work in an unsafe position.

Describe the M27 or A3(M) location clearly

Give the road number and direction of travel. Explain whether the car is in an emergency area, on a hard shoulder, on a slip road or in a live lane. A location near Fareham, Portsmouth or Waterlooville is useful context, but it does not establish the carriageway or a suitable approach to the vehicle.

Use a junction reference, marker information or a map location only when it is available safely. Do not walk beside traffic, cross a carriageway or go back to the vehicle to improve the description. Say if a detail is uncertain. If another person is making the call for you, make sure they pass on your current position rather than your intended route or destination.

Emergency areas and changing motorway conditions

Emergency areas are provided for emergency stopping; they are not ordinary parking or rest areas. The AA’s explanation of emergency areas shows their purpose and how they are identified. The layout you meet matters more than a recollection of how a road looked on a previous journey. Follow the current signs and instructions at the scene.

Do not assume every section has a hard shoulder or that a neighbouring local road gives access to a motorway vehicle. If you are in an emergency area, follow the official instructions before leaving it; a recovery enquiry is not permission to rejoin traffic. The recovery operator also needs to know about any police or traffic-officer involvement affecting the collection.

Once immediate safety has been addressed

An onward recovery can be discussed using the actual vehicle, location and proposed destination. Give the registration, make and model and describe what happened before the stop. A warning light, loss of power, overheating or a sudden noise is an observation; it is not necessarily a confirmed diagnosis. Explain assistance already attempted and identify electric or hybrid power.

You are not expected to inspect underneath the car or test whether it rolls beside traffic. State what you already know about keys, wheel movement, steering and visible damage, and make uncertainties clear. A damaged vehicle, loaded van, trailer or low-clearance car may need additional assessment. Useful information should come from safe observations, not from taking a risk to complete a checklist.

Choose a destination that can receive the car

Before agreeing onward transport, contact the intended garage or recipient. Check that it can accept the vehicle in its current condition and ask which entrance should be used for unloading. A repair booking does not necessarily mean the workshop has space for an undriveable car early, late or outside its opening hours.

If you prefer recovery home, describe the driveway or parking space and any access limitation. Consider where a non-runner can remain after unloading. A specialist farther away needs the full address at the quotation stage. If you have not decided, tell the recovery operator rather than giving a provisional address as though it were agreed. A later destination change may alter the route and quotation.

Passengers and the rest of your journey

Explain how many people are travelling and any mobility needs, children, pets or associated equipment that affect arrangements. Do not assume a vehicle recovery automatically includes seats or onward transport for everybody. Discuss those needs clearly and keep any separate travel arrangements coordinated with the actual incident.

A person booking from home may be able to contact a garage or help with onward plans, but should not guess what is happening at the roadside. Keep a main contact who can approve the movement and a clear record of the agreed destination. Where the person with the vehicle cannot communicate safely, follow emergency-service instructions first. Avoid making repeated non-essential calls that distract from the situation.

What AtWheel needs for a recovery quotation

AtWheel’s standard recovery call-out is £100. Mileage and job extras are quoted separately. Give the collection position, delivery address, vehicle and known loading restrictions so the complete job can be assessed. Ask for the full payable amount and what it covers, including any applicable VAT treatment, before accepting. A call-out figure alone is not an all-inclusive motorway recovery price.

Current availability and suitable access must be checked. A webpage cannot promise an arrival time based on the nearest Hampshire town or on the length of the proposed tow. Explain fixed receiving hours and any official instruction affecting the scene. If another authorised service removes the vehicle first, tell AtWheel where it has gone and what release arrangements apply there.

If the vehicle has already left the motorway

Use its new physical location for the enquiry. A car at a service-area parking space needs the site, direction and parking section. A car at a local garage or compound needs the actual address, entrance, contact and release permission. The place where the fault first appeared is useful history, but it is no longer the collection point.

Confirm that keys and an authorised handover person will be available. Ask about gates, height barriers, receiving or release hours and any site appointment. If you have already travelled home, explain who can meet the driver. A clear handover plan matters even when the vehicle is only being moved a short distance from a safe collection site to a workshop.

Useful next steps after the incident

Keep the recovery destination and contact details with any reference supplied for the job. Tell the repairer what you observed and what assistance has already taken place. Avoid declaring a component at fault unless it has been assessed. A successful restart on its own does not establish that an unexplained warning or intermittent problem has been resolved.

For a car now parked at home that will not start, see jump-start assistance and our non-start guide. For an agreed future workshop transfer, use vehicle transport. If the car needs recovery now, call 07444 400271 once you can do so safely and provide the current facts. The M27 and A3(M) pages explain the location details to have ready.

When several people are helping with one breakdown

It is common for a driver, relative and garage to become involved in the same recovery enquiry. Decide who can agree the destination and the cost, and who can give an accurate account of the vehicle. Keep those roles clear. A relative may be able to organise a workshop without knowing whether the car is still on the motorway; a person at the scene may know the position without having authority to approve a different destination.

Give each party the same registration and current location. If an authorised service has moved the car, update everyone before another collection is arranged. Keep any release reference or new site contact with the incident details. Do not let an earlier description continue to circulate after the vehicle has changed position.

For a business vehicle, contact the person responsible for its fleet or transport arrangements when practical. They may have an existing assistance process or approved receiving workshop. Explain whether the vehicle carries goods or equipment, but do not approach an exposed vehicle to make an inventory. The immediate scene takes priority; the onward movement can be made clearer using information already available safely.