HGV breakdown checklist: the first 15 minutes

A roadside failure is a safety event before it is a repair job. Your employer's procedure, the vehicle handbook and instructions from police, National Highways traffic officers or the road operator always take priority over any web checklist, including this one.

1. Deal with immediate risk

If anyone is injured, there is fire, a dangerous spill, collision damage or the vehicle is obstructing a live lane, contact the emergency services on 999 or the relevant road operator first. On a motorway follow the Go left, get safe, get help sequence: get as far left as you safely can, leave by the passenger side if you can reach a place behind a barrier, and use the emergency telephone or call National Highways on 0300 123 5000. Do not walk into traffic, inspect exposed wheels or work beneath the vehicle. Never place a warning triangle on a motorway.

If you cannot leave the carriageway, stay in the cab with your seat belt on and hazard lights on, and call 999 immediately.

2. Make the location unambiguous

Recovery operators lose the most time to vague locations. Record:

• the road number and carriageway direction (for example M6 northbound);
• the last junction passed and the next one ahead;
• the nearest marker post (the small blue posts every 100 m carry the distance and carriageway letter);
• a map pin or what3words square from your phone;
• whether you are on a hard shoulder, in an emergency area, a lay-by or a live lane.

At a depot or customer site use the HGV gate, unit number and a site contact rather than the office postcode alone. Say whether traffic management or a traffic officer is already present.

3. Capture the vehicle facts

Share the registration, make and model, and whether you are a rigid, a tractor unit with trailer or a drawbar combination. Add the axle count, whether you are laden, the approximate gross weight and anything unusual about the load. A recovery operator also needs to know whether the wheels turn, whether the brakes release, whether the driveline is locked and whether the vehicle can still build air.

4. Describe what changed

Write down the exact warning text, the noises, smells, leaks and what happened in the seconds before you stopped. Photograph dashboard messages or visible damage only from a safe position. Do not clear fault codes, repeatedly restart or move the vehicle just to test it if doing so could increase the damage or put you in traffic.

5. Agree who is being dispatched

Whether you use your operator's breakdown cover, a manufacturer scheme or an independent provider found through HGV247, confirm:

• the trading name of the business attending and a callback number;
• whether the request is actually accepted, not just "logged";
• an ETA range and the conditions attached to it;
• the pricing basis where circumstances allow: call-out, travel, labour, parts, recovery mileage, VAT and cancellation terms;
• who in your organisation has authorised the spend.

Do not have two providers travelling to the same incident unless you have explicitly cancelled one and understand any charge.

6. Keep the control team updated

Tell transport control, the customer or site, and any load-quality contact what they need to know. Share only the personal and cargo information necessary for safe attendance. Update the provider if the vehicle location, road authority instructions or fault changes.

7. Protect your drivers' hours record

A breakdown does not switch the tachograph rules off. Record the reason for any departure from the driving or rest limits manually, at the latest when you reach a suitable stopping place. Waiting for recovery of a known duration can usually be recorded as a period of availability; if the duration is unknown, record it as other work. Your transport manager should be told as early as possible so the remaining shift can be planned.

What a provider will ask you

Expect an HGV mechanic or recovery controller to ask for: registration and VIN or fleet number, precise location, vehicle configuration and weight, the fault symptoms, whether the vehicle is loaded, whether it is in a dangerous position, a contact name and number, and who is paying. Having all of that ready is the single biggest thing you can do to shorten the wait.