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Broke Down in New Jersey? The Emergency Towing Guide for Drivers
If your car has stopped somewhere it should not be, get yourself out of the path of traffic first and call for the truck second. Everything else in this guide, from what to say on the phone to where the car should go, comes after those two moves.
Emergency Towing in New Jersey: the short version
Your safety outranks the car: hazards on, off the travel lane if it still moves, and away from passing traffic.
Call 911 first if anyone is hurt, the car is blocking a live lane, or there is smoke or fuel on the ground.
When you call for a tow, give the exact location, the make and model, whether the car rolls and steers, and where it should go.
Insist on a flat price before the truck is dispatched; ours is quoted on the phone before the truck rolls from Linden.
On the Turnpike or the Parkway, the Authority's authorized garage handles the shoulder and we take the car from the exit or the garage's lot.
What to do right now: emergency towing step by step
8 steps, in order, from the moment the car stops to the moment it is safe or on the truck.
Step 1: Get out of the travel lane if you can
If the car still moves at all, coast or limp it to the right shoulder, a ramp gore area, a side street or a parking lot. A few hundred feet to a wider spot is worth it. Turn the wheels away from the road and put the parking brake on.
Step 2: Make the car visible
Turn on the hazard lights right away and leave them on. At night, keep the interior light on as well. If you carry reflective triangles or flares and can place them without walking into traffic, set them well behind the car.
Step 3: Decide where you are safest
On a highway shoulder, the safer place is usually behind the guardrail and upstream of the car, not standing beside it. If there is no barrier and no safe ground, stay belted in the car. Never stand between the car and moving traffic.
Step 4: Call 911 when it is more than a breakdown
Injuries, a car stuck in a live lane, smoke, a fuel leak or a crash all go to 911 first. Police can protect the scene and close a lane. Call the tow second, while you wait.
Step 5: Pin down your exact location
Look for a mile marker, an exit number, a cross street or a business name. Note your direction of travel. Drop a pin in your phone's map app so you can read out the coordinates or text the link.
Step 6: Call for the tow with the right details ready
Call (908) 444-0129 and say where you are, what the car is, what happened, whether it rolls and steers, and where you want it taken. Those answers decide which truck comes and the flat price you are quoted.
Step 7: Get your things together while you wait
Take the registration, insurance card, wallet, phone charger, house keys, medication and any child seats out of the car. Keep your phone charged; the driver calls when he is close.
Step 8: Check the truck before you hand over the keys
Confirm the truck is the one you called by matching the company name and the price you were quoted. Get a receipt that shows the pickup point, the destination and the mileage.
At step one or step six, the call is the same.
Call nowDo's and don'ts for emergency towing
What helps and what makes it worse, from the drivers who do this every day.
Do
✓ Do pull as far right as the shoulder allows and turn the wheels away from traffic.
✓ Do keep the hazard lights on the whole time, day or night.
✓ Do tell the dispatcher if the car is all-wheel drive, electric, lowered or will not roll.
✓ Do choose the destination yourself: your mechanic, a dealer, a body shop or your driveway.
✓ Do ask for the total price before you agree to anything.
✓ Do photograph the car on all four sides before it is loaded.
Don't
✗ Don't stand between the car and moving traffic, even for a moment.
✗ Don't try to change a tire or look under the hood on a narrow highway shoulder.
✗ Don't accept a tow from a truck that stops without being called and won't give a price.
✗ Don't let anyone drag an all-wheel-drive or electric car on two wheels.
✗ Don't leave the registration, garage opener or toll transponder in the car.
✗ Don't walk along a highway looking for an exit sign; use the mile markers or your phone's map.
Not sure which applies to you? Ask the dispatcher.
Call nowCommon reasons New Jersey drivers need emergency towing
The situations behind most emergency towing calls we take.
Overheating in stop-and-go traffic
Summer backups on Routes 1 & 9, Route 22 and the approaches to the Goethals push weak cooling systems over the edge. Once the gauge climbs into the red or steam comes from the hood, shut the engine off; driving on can warp the head. That is a tow, not a top-off.
Dead battery or failed alternator
A car that dies while running, with dimming lights first, usually has a failed alternator and needs a tow. A car that will not start after sitting usually just needs a jump start, which costs less than a tow.
Blowouts with no usable spare
Potholes after a New Jersey winter take out tires and rims on every major road. If you have a good spare and a safe spot, a flat tire change gets you moving. No spare, a bent rim or two flats means a tow to the tire shop.
Transmission and drivetrain failure
Slipping gears, a car that revs but will not move, or a loud clunk followed by nothing. These cars often still roll, but they should not be driven another mile.
Out of fuel or out of charge
A gas car that ran dry needs fuel delivery, not a tow. An electric car with zero range is different: it cannot be driven or towed on its wheels and goes on a flatbed to a charger or home.
Whatever the cause, the truck is the same call away.
Call nowWhich service you actually need
Pick the right truck the first time and you save a second trip.
Emergency tow or roadside help
If the problem is a dead battery, a flat with a good spare, a lockout or an empty tank, a roadside technician usually gets you driving for less. If the car will not run safely, it needs the truck. Describe the symptom and the dispatcher sorts it out; see roadside assistance for what can be fixed where you stopped.
Flatbed or wheel-lift
A front- or rear-wheel-drive car that rolls and steers can usually ride a wheel-lift. All-wheel-drive, electric, lowered, damaged and non-rolling cars need a flatbed. Tell the dispatcher the make and model and the right truck is sent the first time.
Tow now or tow in the morning
If the car is safe in a driveway or a legal parking spot and the shop is closed, a scheduled local tow the next morning works fine. If it is on a shoulder, in a lane or in a tow-away zone, it needs to move now.
What changes the price of emergency towing
The price is quoted on the phone before the truck rolls; these are the things that move it.
An emergency tow is a hook fee plus loaded mileage from where the car is to where you want it. The truck the car needs sets the hook: a wheel-lift costs a little less than a flatbed, and a heavy wrecker costs more. The distance to your chosen destination sets the mileage. With us, the total is a flat price quoted on the phone before the truck rolls.
Some things make the job harder but should not surprise you on the bill. A car that has to be winched, skated out of a garage or recovered from a ditch should be described on the call so it is in the quote. The hour, the day of the week and the weather do not change our price; there are no night, weekend, holiday or fuel surcharges.
Get the exact number for your car and your destination.
Call nowEmergency Towing on New Jersey roads: what is different here
Roads, rules and weather that change how emergency towing works in North and Central Jersey.
The Turnpike and the Parkway are handled differently
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority allows only its authorized garages to tow from the shoulder of the Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. Call us anyway: the authorized truck brings the car off the highway, and we take it from the exit or the garage's lot to the shop or driveway you choose, at our flat quoted price.
The move-over law protects you, but do not count on it
New Jersey law requires drivers to move over or slow down for stopped emergency vehicles and tow trucks with lights flashing. Plenty of drivers still pass close and fast, which is why getting behind a guardrail matters more than the law.
Check NJ 511 if a road is closing behind you
NJ 511 shows crashes, closures and congestion statewide. If your breakdown is near a closure, tell the dispatcher, since it can change which way the truck approaches.
How we handle an emergency towing call, start to finish
Call, quote, truck, done: four steps, and you know the price before the first one ends.
Dispatch
You call (908) 444-0129. A dispatcher asks where you are (street and cross street, or the exit), what the vehicle is, what happened and where it should go, then quotes a flat price.
Arrival
Once you approve the quote, the nearest truck leaves Linden or wherever it is working. Drive time depends on distance and traffic; the dispatcher gives you a real window, and the driver calls when close.
Work
The driver checks the vehicle, does the job the way it was quoted and, for a tow, takes the vehicle to the place you chose, not one we pick for you.
Payment
You pay the quoted price: cash, credit or debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No membership is needed.
That is the whole process. It starts with the call.
Call nowEmergency Towing in New Jersey's biggest towns, and every county we cover
Every town we serve has its own emergency towing page; the largest are below, and each county hub lists the rest.
- Emergency Towing in Newark
- Emergency Towing in Jersey City
- Emergency Towing in Paterson
- Emergency Towing in Elizabeth
- Emergency Towing in Edison
- Emergency Towing in Woodbridge
- Emergency Towing in Clifton
- Emergency Towing in Bayonne
- Emergency Towing in Passaic
- Emergency Towing in East Orange
- Emergency Towing in Union City
- Emergency Towing in Franklin Township
- Emergency Towing in Middletown
- Emergency Towing in Old Bridge
- Emergency Towing in North Bergen
- Emergency Towing in Irvington
- Emergency Towing in Union
- Emergency Towing in Piscataway
- Emergency Towing in Hoboken
- Emergency Towing in Parsippany
- Emergency Towing in Perth Amboy
- Emergency Towing in New Brunswick
- Emergency Towing in Wayne
- Emergency Towing in Plainfield
- Towing in Union County
- Towing in Middlesex County
- Towing in Essex County
- Towing in Hudson County
- Towing in Somerset County
- Towing in Morris County
- Towing in Monmouth County
- Towing in Bergen County
- Towing in Passaic County
Do not see your town? If it is within 45 minutes of Linden, we cover it.
Call (908) 444-0129Emergency Towing service pageEmergency Towing questions, answered
Straight answers to what drivers ask us about emergency towing.
Is it safer to wait inside the car or outside it?
Outside and behind a barrier is usually safest on a highway, because the main danger is being struck from behind. If there is no guardrail and no safe ground away from the road, stay in the car with your seatbelt on and the hazards running.
Should I call 911 or a tow truck first?
Call 911 first if anyone is hurt, the car is stopped in a travel lane, or you see smoke or leaking fuel. For an ordinary breakdown on the shoulder or a side street, call the tow directly at (908) 444-0129.
What if I don't know exactly where I am?
Look for a green mile marker, the last exit you passed or a business sign, and note your direction. Your phone's map app can show your position; read the cross streets or share the location link with the dispatcher.
A tow truck stopped behind me and I didn't call it. Should I use it?
Only if the driver is from the company you called. Ask who sent him and what the total price is before you hand over the keys. If he can't answer both, wait for the truck you booked.
Can I leave the car on the shoulder and come back tomorrow?
It is a bad idea. Cars left on highway shoulders can be ordered towed by police, and you then pay to get it out of the yard. Move it now to a destination you choose.
What if the shop I want is closed when the tow arrives?
Say so when you call. Many shops have a key drop and a lot where the car can be left, or the car can go to your driveway tonight and to the shop tomorrow on a scheduled local tow.
Do you go everywhere in New Jersey?
We cover every town within about 45 minutes of Linden across nine counties. Check the service area page, and for runs beyond it ask about long distance towing.
Need 24 hour emergency towing right now? One call, truck on the way.
Real dispatcher, 24 hours a day. Quoted price before we roll.