Tip #42: Stopped in a live lane on the Pulaski Skyway or a bridge? Call 911 first
The Pulaski Skyway and many New Jersey bridges and elevated roads have little or no shoulder, so a stalled car sits in a live lane. In that situation call 911 first. A tow company comes second, once the car can be moved safely.
Tip #42 in one line
The Pulaski Skyway and many New Jersey bridges and elevated roads have little or no shoulder, so a stalled car sits in a live lane. In that situation call 911 first. A tow company comes second, once the car can be moved safely.
Stuck right now? Skip the reading and call.
Call nowWhy these roads are different
On most highways a breakdown means pulling onto a shoulder. The Pulaski Skyway was built long before modern shoulders, and on many bridges and elevated ramps the lanes run right up to the barrier. A car that stops there is in a travel lane, with traffic coming up behind it at speed and nowhere to go.
That is an emergency, not a towing call. Police and highway crews can close a lane, set up warning signs and get the car moved quickly. A private tow truck cannot safely stop in a live lane on its own, and on some of these roads commercial trucks have restrictions.
One call, one flat quote, 24/7.
Call nowWhat to do
If the car is losing power, try to coast to the end of the bridge or the next exit; even a few hundred feet can get you off the structure. If it stops in the lane, turn on the hazard lights immediately. Call 911, give the road, the direction and your best description of where you are on it.
Then decide whether to stay in the car. If traffic is fast and there is no safe place to stand, staying belted in is often safer. If there is a walkway or you can get behind a barrier without crossing traffic, and the dispatcher or police tell you to, do that. Never walk in the lanes.
One call, one flat quote, 24/7.
Call nowWhere we come in
Once police have moved the car to a safe spot, an exit or a lot, call us. We take it from there to the shop or driveway you choose, at a flat hook fee plus a per-mile rate quoted before the truck rolls. If police called a rotation company to clear it, we can pick the car up from that yard later. Our emergency towing page and the towing questions page explain how that works.
If you commute across the Skyway or a long bridge every day, the cheapest protection is maintenance: keep the tank above a quarter, replace a battery that is slow to crank, and fix a warning light before it turns into a stall. A breakdown on a road with a shoulder is an inconvenience. On a road without one, it is a much more serious problem, and most of those stalls give some warning first.
One call, one flat quote, 24/7.
Call nowMore on nj roads
Keep reading, or go back to every post on the blog.
- Tip #41: On Route 1 & 9, Route 22 or I-78, get as far off the road as you can
- Tip #43: On the Turnpike or Parkway, the shoulder tow is the Authority's garage
- Tip #44: In a jughandle, tell the dispatcher which side of the highway you are on
- Tip #46: On one-way streets in Newark, Jersey City or Elizabeth, give the block, not just the street
- Tip #47: Learn to read the mileposts and exit numbers before you need them
- Tip #49: Assume passing drivers will not move over, and stand where they cannot hit you
- What to do when your car breaks down in New Jersey
- Flatbed vs wheel-lift towing: which does your car need?
- All posts
Need towing and roadside assistance right now? One call, truck on the way.
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