Staying Safe During a Roadside Emergency: A Guide for Truckers

Recently updated on August 12th, 2024

There are a lot of challenges that professional truckers will deal with during their time on the road, whether they are in motion or pulled over when dealing with a roadside emergency. A roadside emergency can be a daunting situation where it’s best to keep a cool head and have a plan in advance. These emergencies can range from things like tire blowouts to breakdowns and accidents to medical issues, but no matter what the cause, these situations can be stressful and quickly spiral out of control if they aren’t handled correctly from the start.

As a professional driver, it’s your job to make sure that you are ensuring safety on the road with everything you do. At LubeZone, we can’t express the importance of preventative service and maintenance enough, and being prepared for emergencies is as important as making sure your truck is getting the care it needs. That’s why we put together this guide for staying safe during roadside emergencies. It’s also why we offer a range of services to keep you safe and your truck running as it should.

Creating An Emergency Kit For Your Truck

As a trucker, you already know the road can be unpredictable. While you can’t do anything to guarantee that you won’t find yourself in an emergency situation, you can make sure that you are prepared for anything. One of the most important ways to improve your preparedness is to put together a comprehensive emergency kit that will help you handle the situation until help arrives. Here is a list of essentials, but you may find that there are additional items that will best suit your needs depending on the type of conditions or areas you drive in or the type of work you do. If you’re driving solo out across the tundra in the middle of the winter, you might need a bit more than a warm blanket in your sleeper to ride out a winter storm waiting for support!

First Aid Kit

Your first aid kit is your front-line protection when you are dealing with minor injuries or stabilizing more serious injuries while waiting for emergency responders. An adequate first aid kit should include band-aids, antiseptic wipes for cleaning wounds, tweezers for removing debris, medical tape, sterile gauze pads, pain relievers, extra prescription medication, a syringe for flushing out lacerations, and anything else that you may determine is necessary.

Any time you use something from your first aid kit, it’s absolutely essential that you replace it immediately. There is nothing worse than needing something like a gauze pad from your first aid kit only to realize that you raided it a few months back and didn’t replace missing items.

Tools

Keeping a toolbox with basic tools on hand will be a huge help for quick repairs that could help you get your truck to a safe location. A multitool like the Leatherman Wave+ is a great tool to have on hand, but don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s all you need. Keeping a toolbox stocked with things like screwdrivers, crescent wrenches, sockets, and pliers can really come in handy in a pinch for all sorts of situations.

It’s also a good idea to have a full patch kit and a solid jack to repair a flat tire, but remember that plugging a tire is only going to buy you enough time to get your truck into a service center for either a full patch or a tire replacement.

Flashlight, Headlamp, and Extra Batteries

A flashlight is great for nighttime emergencies, but they are only as good as the batteries powering them — so make sure you have backup batteries. A headlamp is a great consideration, too, so you can have hands-free light while trying to handle an emergency.

Road Flares and Warning Triangles

It’s important for your safety and for the safety of everyone else on the road that you warn them of your presence — especially if you are stopped on the road or alongside the road at night or in foul weather.

Fire Extinguisher

Your Class BC fire extinguisher should be nearby in the cab. This type of extinguisher can handle electrical fires and fires caused by flammable liquids, and having it nearby can keep a small fire from becoming a massive blaze.

Food and Water

If you’re stranded for a long time, some non-perishables like cans of food and bottled water can really come in handy. Choose high-protein options like protein bars, refried beans, or nuts, and make sure that you eat them and replace them periodically so they don’t go stale.

Blankets and Warm Clothes

You’ll need to make sure that the blanket and warm clothes you are stashing are appropriate for the worst weather you anticipate in your travels. It’s better to be too warm than too cold under your blanket or in your sleeping bag if you have to wait out a winter night for backup. A thick wool blanket or a winter sleeping bag are great options.

Power Bank

It’s important that you are able to keep your phone charged in an emergency. It’s a good idea to keep a power bank plugged in at all times so it’s fully charged when you need it.

Gloves and Hand Cleaner

It’s a great idea to keep rubber gloves and cleaners available so you can clean up before getting back into your cab after doing some greasy repair work. Even a pack of wipes will come in handy, and the gloves will be helpful if you are dealing with an injury.

Tarp, Duct Tape, Cord

A tarp is a versatile emergency item that can cover a broken window, make a clean and dry space on the ground, and even become a shelter if necessary. Duct tape is great for more applications than we could ever list, and a length of 550 cord is always great to have on hand.

What To Do Immediately After A Breakdown

After a breakdown, it’s important that you act quickly but steadily. Don’t panic because everything will get more complicated if you are fighting through runaway stress while also trying to stay safe. Take a deep breath, assess the situation, and get to work:

Get To a Safe Place

If you are able to get your truck to a safe place — off the road, into the breakdown lane, or otherwise out of the way of oncoming traffic — before it comes to a stop, this is great. This will reduce the risk of secondary collisions and won’t impede the flow of traffic while you wait for help.

Make Yourself Visible

Turn on your hazards and set out your road flares and warning triangles with plenty of distance for drivers to change their speed and prepare to pass you safely.

Call For Help

Call your dispatch center, a tow company, local service department, or 911 when necessary. Make sure that you give them your precise location by referring to highway mileage signs or using your GPS to share coordinates.

Wait Safely

Don’t try to make major repairs unless you have the tools and training to do so. If not, it’s best to wait for roadside assistance to come and make the repairs or tow your truck. Depending on where you are located, dispatch may send another truck to take your load so delivery schedules aren’t disrupted.

Document Everything

Make sure that you take contemporaneous notes about the entire situation so you can report it to HQ or insurance. Even though it may seem like you are clear on the details at the moment, you will probably start to forget them — which isn’t helpful when it comes time to provide a report of the situation.

How To Signal For Help Effectively

If you are in a dire situation and need urgent help, you may need to signal for help from passersby:

Turn On Your Signals

Before ever leaving your vehicle on the road, make sure your signals are on. This will make your vehicle more visible from further away, giving other drivers plenty of time to slow down.

Use Your Emergency Triangles

These will encourage people to move to the other lane so that they can safely stand on the side of the road and signal for help.

Use Hand Signals

Wave to other drivers with your arms to get their attention and communicate the urgency of your situation. Don’t worry about looking silly; the point here is to get attention and encourage people to stop to give you help.

Legal Responsibilities After An Accident

The specifics of your legal responsibilities will depend on a lot of specific factors, such as who was involved, who was at fault, and how the accident happened. You will need to exchange insurance information, file a police report, and wait for the details to emerge while your insurers work out the details. You may need to hire an attorney — especially if you are the owner-operator — or your employer will have their legal support take care of it for you.

It’s important if you are operating on your own that you connect with legal support right away. Trying to deal with insurance companies — especially when you have commercial insurance — on your own can get complicated quickly, and passenger vehicle insurers will see a big paycheck when they file a claim against a commercial driver. Protect yourself ASAP.