Breakdowns and crashes

Nobody plans for a breakdown or a crash, so most of us don't know what to do in the first few minutes. Those minutes matter. A stopped car next to a busy road is in danger of being hit, and people standing next to it even more so.

If your car stops on the road or the shoulder, switch on your hazard lights. Regulation 214 requires you to place your warning triangle at least 45 metres behind the car, on the side the traffic is coming from. Check that your triangle is actually in the boot, because many people only find out it is missing when they need it. On a freeway, get everyone out on the side away from the traffic and wait behind the barrier if there is one, not inside the car.

If you are involved in a crash, section 61 of the National Road Traffic Act says you must stop, check whether anyone is injured and help them as far as you reasonably can. If someone is injured or killed, the crash must be reported to the police within 24 hours. Driving away is a crime, even if you think it was not your fault. Call 112 from a cellphone or 10177 for an ambulance, and give the road name, your direction of travel and the nearest landmark or kilometre marker. Do not move injured people unless they are in immediate danger, for example from fire.

It is worth reading the guides below once now, while you are calm, rather than trying to remember them on the side of the road.