How To Safely Pull Over On A New York Highway Or Interstate

This month we covered a tragic story about a mother and daughter who died on the New York State Thruway after the car suffered a flat tire. Instead of pulling off of the road and onto the shoulder, the mother stopped the car in the active traffic lane. When a truck rear-ended them, they suffered fatal injuries when another passenger was hurt.

After the NY car accident took place, New York State Police told the public about the important safety issue that could have saved these two lives: knowing how to react when your car becomes disabled on the highway and what to do to get help safely.

If you suffer a flat tire on a New York highway, or need to stop your car for any other emergency, it is vitally important that you get out of the active traffic lanes and onto a shoulder or breakdown lane. Here are some other safety tips:

• Pull off onto the right side of the highway if possible. Stop your car as far away from traffic as you can.
• Turn on your hazard lights as soon as you recognize that there is a problem – or any time you are going significantly slower than the traffic around you.
• If you need to, call for assistance. If you call for assistance, either don’t get out of the car unless you have to or get out of the car and stand a safe distance from your car and the highway.
• Realize that cars with distracted drivers or drunk drivers will often plow into disabled cars on the side of the road – do not stand directly behind your car.
• Be wary of anyone who stops to help you, especially if you are alone.
• If it is dark, use safety flares or reflectors to alert oncoming cars of your presence.
• If you need help, put your hood up to signal for assistance.