When you’re on a road trip, the last thing you want is for something to happen to your car. Unfortunately, that very thing happened to my husband Joe and me (click here for all the gory details) while we were on our way home from a cabin in Georgia that we stayed in for a few days. From my Facebook post during that time:
Know what sucks? Running out of gas on I-75.
Know what doesn’t suck? State traffic emergency guys who pull up, out of the blue, with a gallon of gas.
Joe’s blaming me (not really) cuz he was waiting to get gas at the Stuckey’s (Stuckey’s is a huge nostalgia thing for me)…which was the exit coming up in 3/4 mile before we ran out of gas on I-75.
Anyway, the guy was very nice and significantly cheaper than what AAA would have cost, had the AAA lady not put me on hold for so long.
The Stuckey’s was nice.
(Ignore the car hair, please and thank-you. We had been in the rain earlier in the day and had already been on the road for hours…)
But anyway, we have AAA and we called to get assistance. While I was on hold with the AAA lady, a HERO (Highway Emergency Response Operator) pulled up behind us. The guy gave us a gallon of gas and poof, and our problem was solved. For free, no less.
But it brought up a very interesting situation – there are indeed roadside assistance apps out there. And although you can always get roadside assistance from places like AAA, your car manufacturer, auto insurance or possibly even a credit card you have, you may or may not know that most states have emergency highway response systems set up. They’re run by the respective states’ Department of Traffic (DOT) and are available to help motorists who are stranded on the side of the highway with simple stuff – a flat tire, they ran out of gas, etc. Their services are free and they’re available because stopped cars cause rubberneckers to look at those who are stuck (plus there are potentially dangerous situations for those who are the “stuckees” – you see what I did there?), which slows traffic. Helping those in need helps speed up traffic, and get motorists safely on their way.
But even if you know to look, try to find the number for the highway emergency people when you’re in another state, nowhere near home, you’re upset cuz your car is dead on a highway, and you need the number NOW (because it’s 90 degrees and humid and of course your car didn’t stop in the shade)! Because you’d think they all use the same number, right? Nope! I mean, for Florida, you have to dial *FHP (Florida Highway Patrol) to get them. For Georgia, had I known they had a system set up, I’d have to know to call 511. Meanwhile, Kansas’s number is *KTA, a whole slew of states tell you to use 911 (some don’t, in an attempt to keep 911’s operators limited to emergencies), and one state doesn’t give you a number…they just say they’ll find you (that’s so comforting, isn’t it?).
So, just in case you ever need it, here are the links and phone numbers of state-sponsored emergency highway assistance for the 37 states that I could find that have such a service (if you know of such a service for any of the 13 other states [and Washington D.C.] and my Google-fu was off, please send me info/URL so I can update. Thanks!).
Heads up that days and times of availability vary from state to state, as does which highways are and are not covered. Although one or two have service in the middle of the night, most don’t, and some don’t even offer weekend service. Anyway, days/times are usually in the respective links.
- Alabama
- Alaska – No such service found.
- Arizona
- Arkansas – No such service found.
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware – No such service found.
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho – No such service found.
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan – No number to call. They monitor cameras, law enforcement is on the lookout, and Safety Service Patrol (SSP )drivers make regular patrols
- Minnesota
- Mississippi – No such service found
- Missouri
- Montana – No such service found
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota – No such service found
- Ohio
- Oklahoma – No such service found
- Oregon – no such service found
- Pennsylvania – PA Tnpk only, and it’s gonna cost ya
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota – No such service found
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont – No such service found
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Washington
- Washington D.C. – No such service found
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming – No such service found
For the states that don’t offer any service for stranded motorists, heads up that both CurbsideSOS and HONK can help get you in touch with roadside assistance. Both are private, for-profit entities and you will pay fees for their services.
Safe travels!
Feature Photo: pikrepo
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1 comment
I’m not sure if you remember when there were “Motorist Aid Call Boxes” every mile or so on the interstates back in the 70s and 80s. They used to be along the whole length of I-10 in Florida and also along the Turnpike. I believe that I-75 had them also. They were mostly in non-heavily populated areas, as I-95 in Florida did not have any.