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Crashes and breakdowns when you're far from home
What to do if you break down or crash on a regional or remote road trip
Updated • Published
7 min read
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14 min readDrive
What to do if you break down or crash on a regional or remote road trip
Updated • Published
7 min read
Text size
Updated •
Published
Text size
Breaking down or crashing in a familiar area is stressful enough, but when it happens when you are driving in regional or remote areas, it can be even more distressing.
Closer to home, where help is usually not far away, the actions you need to take immediately after an incident are much clearer. But long distances can complicate the processes if you are unprepared and don’t know what to do.
So how do you deal with a crash or breakdown when you’re far from home?
It is certainly inconvenient for your vehicle to break down on a driving holiday (proper preparation, including making sure you have the right level of roadside assistance and taking your car in for a safety inspection prior to long-distance travel can help minimise the chances).
If you have a breakdown service and you are not too far from a larger regional town, get in touch and let them know the exact location.
Before calling roadside assistance, move your vehicle completely off the road and away from traffic, provided it is safe and possible to do so. Turn on your hazard lights and remain aware of passing vehicles, particularly on high-speed regional roads.
If you have RAC Roadside Assistance, call 13 11 11 and the consultant will organise help to come out to you from the nearest service provider. If you don’t have Roadside Assistance, you can still call RAC and join on the spot for a slightly higher fee.
Just bear in mind that in regional areas, Roadside Assistance support may take longer to get to you than in the city. Make sure you wait where it is safe – well clear of the road and passing traffic, rather than next to your vehicle on the roadside.
Don’t worry if you can’t provide an exact location, including on a regional or remote road.
When you call roadside assistance, the consultant can help identify where you are by asking about where you started your journey, your route, intended destination and nearby landmarks.
If you have a mapping app on your phone (most smartphones have one pre-installed), you may be able to share your location directly. If necessary, RAC may send you an SMS locator, which is a text message with a link to share your coordinates.
In some remote areas, RAC may be able to do an over-the-phone diagnosis to assess the problem before arranging assistance.
If you are travelling into an area with limited phone coverage, make sure you carry spare tyres in good condition, enough food and water and an alternative communications device, such as a UHF radio, satellite phone or personal locator beacon.
If you have an iPhone 14 or later model with the latest iOS installed, and breakdown in an area with no mobile coverage, you may still be able to contact RAC using Apple's satellite network.
Make sure you work out if your device has this capability and familiarise yourself with the process before travelling. You’ll need to be outside with a clear view of the sky and horizon.
If you have no signal and no way of contacting assistance by any other means, you may need to seek help from someone driving by, when it is safe to do so. From a safe location, flag them down and ask them to contact RAC and give your name, vehicle details and approximate location once they have reception.
While some breakdowns can be fixed on the spot, others will require a tow to a workshop.
Where a tow is the only option, the RAC consultant can arrange this over the phone. If a Roadside Assistance patrol has come out to you but can’t repair the vehicle, they will organise a tow on your behalf.
Standard Roadside Assistance includes 80km of round-trip towing in regional areas. Both Classic and Ultimate Roadside Assistance have 200km and Ultimate Plus has 300km.
If the nearest patrol or tow truck is further away than your membership covers, additional distance charges may apply; this applies to both Roadside Assistance callouts and towing services.
To make sure you’re not left stranded, members can travel in the tow truck to a safe place where you can make other arrangements. Depending on your level of breakdown cover, you may be eligible for other benefits, such as taxi fares, car hire costs and emergency accommodation covered, so keep the receipts.
Crashes are a very different scenario to a breakdown; generally, a breakdown is when a vehicle can’t be driven due to mechanical or other internal failure, and a crash is when it has been damaged in a collision or impact with another object or vehicle or due to weather. Your product coverage document should contain exact definitions.
After a crash, there are a number of duties and obligations to fulfil.
The first thing to do, if you’re able, is to determine if emergency services need to attend.
If you, or anyone else at the scene, are hurt, trapped, or if there is any danger or traffic hazard, call 000. Even if you don’t need emergency assistance, you may still be legally required to report the crash to the police later.
Once a crash scene is safe, the next step is to exchange details with any other people involved in the crash and record as much information what has happened as you can .
RELATED:What to do immediately after a crash »
If your vehicle is not safe to drive, call your insurer. They should be able to provide details about how to organise a tow or organise it for you. If you have RAC’s comprehensive car insurance, call the claims team and a consultant will find a regional tow operator and then guide you through the next steps.
If you’re not sure of your exact location, you may be able to provide co-ordinates from your phone’s mapping app to your insurer.
If you sustain injuries in the crash and are taken from the scene by emergency services, to the best of your ability at the time, take note of the location or check with emergency services where the vehicle is located. Prioritise getting the medical help you need, then call your insurer where possible.
If you are uninjured and confident that your vehicle is safe to drive, you can continue your journey and lodge an insurance claim at the first convenient opportunity. It is also advisable to still get a professional mechanic to check your vehicle as soon as possible.
Breaking down in another state can feel more complicated, but the process is largely the same as at home.
If you have RAC Roadside Assistance, you have access to assistance through our affiliated motoring clubs: RACV in Victoria, NRMA in NSW, RACQ in Queensland, RAA in South Australia, RACT in Tasmania and AANT in the Northern Territory.
By calling 13 11 11, you will be able to access roadside assistance in each state and the RAC can help coordinate or reimburse additional benefits that may be available under your level of cover.
A crash on a regional or remote road in another state also follows a similar process as a crash at home, and the same advice applies.
Under RAC’s car insurance, if you’re in another state, you may be eligible for a “cost to complete journey” benefit and a temporary accommodation benefit if you’re unable to drive your car, so call to discuss.
