Car Broke Down on an Atlanta Highway? Do This First.

A highway breakdown in Atlanta is dangerous. I-285 carries over 200,000 vehicles per day in some sections, and I-85 and I-75 are similarly busy. When your car breaks down on an Atlanta interstate, the first priority is safety — not your car.

Immediate steps when your engine fails or car loses power on an Atlanta highway:

1. Stay calm and keep steering. Use remaining momentum to guide the vehicle toward the right shoulder. Do not brake suddenly unless necessary — gradual deceleration gives following traffic time to react.

2. Get as far right as possible. Pull onto the shoulder, ideally past the white fog line. If an exit ramp is within reach, take it — a parking lot or surface road is far safer than an interstate shoulder.

3. Turn on hazard lights immediately. Do this even before you fully stop. Hazards warn following traffic of your presence.

4. Stay in your vehicle with your seatbelt on. On Atlanta interstates, it is statistically safer to remain belted in your vehicle than to stand on the shoulder. If you must exit, go out the passenger side and stand far from the travel lane, ideally behind a barrier.

5. Call 911 if there is danger, then call for towing. If you are in an unsafe position — blocking a travel lane, in a curve with limited visibility, or on a bridge — call 911 first. Then call Atlanta Towing Service at (404) 555-TOWING. Give the dispatcher your highway, direction, and mile marker (visible on small green signs on the right shoulder).