Towing After a Wreck: What to Do if Your Car Is Totaled

Car Towing Tips

The moments after a serious car accident are stressful and confusing. If your car is in bad enough shape that it can’t be driven, you know you’ll have to get it towed — but how does that work? Are there other steps you should be taking? Below are some important things to keep in mind after a major wreck.

1. Safety is the first and foremost concern. In the case of any injuries, call 911 immediately. If there are no injuries and the vehicles can be moved, get them off the road to a safe place, then call local or state police to report the accident. While you wait for the police to arrive, exchange information (license, registration, and insurance) with the other driver.
2. There’s no way to know at this point who will be deemed at fault for the accident, which means you don’t know whose insurance company will be paying for towing (or whether it will be covered by insurance at all). Don’t worry about this, since there’s nothing you can do about it. The important thing is to get the car towed, and then the details can be sorted out later.
3. Most auto insurance covers a reasonable cost of towing over a reasonable distance. This means that you may have to cover some of the costs yourself if you want your car towed a long way. If you suspect that it’s totaled, it’s generally smarter to have the car towed to a close location and then figure out your next move when you have more information.
4. You may or may not be able to call your preferred towing company (although they must be licensed in the region in which the accident took place to be considered at all). In some cases, the local police department might have a contract with a towing company that they’ll call in, or they might put out a general call for the closest tow truck in the area. Make sure to make any preferences known as soon as possible, because the towing company has the right to demand payment for their services as soon as the car is on the tow truck.
5. Once your vehicle is on the tow truck, you have several options. If you don’t specify a location, the car will be taken to an impound lot that the tow company works with. Alternately, you can tell them the name of a repair shop. If you don’t know any repair shops in the area, your insurance company can tell you which shop they prefer or the tow company can recommend a reputable one.
6. After your car arrives at its destination, let the insurance company know where it is. That way they can send out an adjuster who can determine whether the car is totaled and tell you what to do next. Make sure to keep your receipts for towing and any storage costs. Your insurance company will need them to reimburse you.

A Quick Guide to Roadside Towing Services

 Roadside Towing Services And Help Guide

Nobody plans on having something go wrong with their car and being stranded on the side of the road. You can, however, be prepared for the unexpected before you hit the road. Modern cellular networks makes this easier than ever, since you can locate roadside assistance and call them from the safety of your car.

Organization Roadside Coverage

One of the most common roadside services is the coverage that you get through a company or organization. Usually this is auto clubs and insurance companies, but it’s also offered by car manufacturers. In fact, you may have currently have roadside assistance coverage and not even know it. And if not, it’s easy enough to add to any existing account.

The exact nature of the coverage will change with each company and coverage. Some will cover your towing fee and unlimited miles. Some will only cover a certain number of tows per year, or a certain number of miles. It’s always a good idea to check out the terms beforehand so you’re less frantic when the time comes.

Finding Roadside Service When You Need It

Even if you don’t have roadside coverage, you can still track down reliable towing services on your own. The only difference is that you’ll have to do it based on where you are when you need the tow. If you’re in town, then you can do your research ahead of time, but road trips can make things a little trickier. When you are on a road trip, smartphones and cell phones are a great tool to help you compare multiple companies and prices before you order a tow truck.

Not sure how to tell if it’s a good company? Reviews are a great place to start. Remember that even the best business will have dissatisfied customers, so don’t let a single bad review sway you too much. You should also check out their prices, which many companies post online.

Most importantly, however, you need to make sure that they’re upfront with you about all charges before you sign anything. Find out where they’re taking your car and how far away it is. Ask them about any storage fees or other additional fees that may be involved. Good companies will be able to answer these questions immediately.

More Than Just Towing

When we think about roadside assistance, most of us think about towing. Today’s towing vehicles are mobile workshops, and can provide other services to get out back on the road, like:

Basic Mechanical Repairs: This is usually limited to adjusting or changing minor things that don’t involves parts or supplies, such as reconnecting hoses or switching out fuses. Anything more complicated than that and they’ll usually tow you to a repair shop.

Battery Service: A jumpstart is just the beginning. Many services can do things like recharge your battery, refill the fluid, test the battery, and even switch out the battery with a new one.

Flat Tire Service: Depending on the service, you may not even have to limp along on a spare. Many services can get the right tire size from your VIN or license number, and can bring a brand new full-size tire out to replace the flat one.

Locksmiths: Locking yourself out of your car is annoying. Fortunately, many roadside services will be able to unlock your car or, if that fails, tow the car to a shop where it can be unlocked.

Roadside Services and Towing

Roadside Services and Towing: What to Do If Your Car Breaks Down

Car breakdowns can happen when you least expect it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared. Here are some keys tips to remember so you’re ready when the time comes.

Get Your Car Out of Traffic

Your first priority has to be to get your vehicle to safety. If you have time and your car’s struggling along, then try to find a straight section of road to avoid problems with curves. Even if the engine cuts out while you’re driving, you can usually still steer the car to the side of the road while coasting. Try to get it as far off the road as possible.

You can’t always get your car out of the road, for instance in rush hour traffic. If this happens, don’t get out of your car. Turn on your hazard lights and call 911 immediately. The police will send out someone to direct traffic and get your car out of the traffic flow.

Make Your Car Visible

You want to make your car as visible as possible to avoid any further accidents. If it’s during the day, then turn on your hazard lights. At night, these can make it seem like your car is still moving, so turn on your interior light for extra visibility.

If it’s safe for you to get out, there are other things you can do to increase visibility. If you have them, use flares or hazard triangles spaced out leading up to your car. It’s also a good idea to raise the hood to let other know that you’re in trouble.

Call For Help

If you have roadside coverage, then you should give them a call, or call someone who can contact the service. If you’re not safely out of the flow of traffic, then your first call should be to the police. Not everyone has roadside service, though. In that case, then you can call a towing company to come out and help you.

Almost everyone has a cell phone these days, but in case you don’t have one or don’t have service, you should look for emergency call boxes. If there’s one within easy sight of your vehicle, then you should use it. Otherwise, stay with your vehicle until someone stops.

Stay With Your Car

Once you’ve called, you should stay with your car until help arrives. If there’s a barrier, then wait behind the barrier. If there isn’t and traffic is somewhat close to your car, then stay in your car with your seatbelt on.

Even if you didn’t call for help, you should still stay with your car. Highway patrol and state troopers patrol common routes, and sooner or later one of them will spot you. Also, other motorists will often call breakdowns in, especially truck drivers over their CB system.