Help, Safety & Advice

How to push a vehicle safely

If you are unfortunate to have a car breakdown or your car stalls before you can get it off the road, your first instinct may be to get out and push it to the side of the road. But if you don't follow safety guidelines it can be dangerous or even fatal.

Your first course of action should be to alert other drivers so put your hazard lights on.

The next thing to do is to weigh up the relative risks between:

  • leaving the car where it is and staying in it
  • leaving it where it is and getting out
  • pushing it off the road

If you have Green Flag Rapid Breakdown Cover, call for assistance:

Emergency breakdown number: 0800 051 0636
Open 24 hours a day 365 days a year

Emergency minicom line: 0800 800 610

European emergency breakdown numbers: 00800 0051 0636 / 00 44 141 349 0516

If you are in danger call 999.

It's a good idea to keep a high visibility jacket in the front of your car in case of an emergency such as this and in some countries it's compulsory to carry one in the vehicle.

If you do decide to push your car to a point of safety, then put it into neutral and make sure nobody stands between the vehicle and oncoming traffic, or blocks the hazard lights.

If you can, enlist the help of others: one person should sit in the driver's seat to control the steering and brakes as the others push. If you are on your own, it is possible to push while holding on to the steering wheel and driver's doorway, but this can be dangerous to you and to others as you have to jump in once it has built up momentum.

If stopped on a downward slope, or if you have lots of people pushing, don't let the car build up too much momentum as the brakes will be less effective with the engine off - this is because they work using hydraulic pressure. Power steering won't work without the engine running.

Finally, never try to push a car uphill.

Before any long journey make sure that you have adequate breakdown cover before you travel, get an online quote today.

For more information on the safe use of roadside verges visit the Survive website.