Get out of traffic’s way first
A stall on a Toledo freeway is most dangerous in the first few minutes, before other drivers have noticed you. Work through these in order:
- Signal and move as far right as you can: the shoulder, an exit ramp or a side street.
- Turn on your hazard lights. Set out a triangle or flares only if you can do it without walking along the lanes.
- If you can get well away from traffic, behind a guardrail or up the bank, do it. If you can’t, stay in the car with your seat belt on and the hazards flashing.
- Call 911 if anyone is hurt, the car is in a travel lane or there is no shoulder. For non-emergency help on a highway, dial #677 for the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
- Then arrange the tow.
Outside business and residential districts, Ohio law says not to stop on the traveled part of a highway when it is practicable to stop off it, with an exception for a car so disabled that stopping in the lane can’t be avoided (ORC 4511.66).
When the tow truck arrives, other drivers have to give it room. Ohio’s Move Over law covers stopped road service vehicles with flashing lights, and the definition includes wreckers (ORC 4511.213, ORC 4511.01). It does not yet cover a regular car stopped with its hazards on. A bill to add that, SB 16, passed the Ohio Senate in October 2025 and had no further action listed after its House committee referral as of October 2026.
911, #677 or a tow provider?
| Your situation | Call | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone hurt, smoke or fire, fuel leaking | 911 | Emergency response comes first. |
| Car stopped in a travel lane, or nowhere to pull off | 911 | A blocked lane is an emergency. |
| Safely on an interstate or state highway shoulder | #677, then a tow provider | ODOT says #677 reaches the Highway Patrol for non-emergency help. |
| Broken down on the Ohio Turnpike | #677 | Only Turnpike contract garages tow passenger cars off the Turnpike. |
| Off the road on a Toledo street or in a parking lot | A tow provider | Call 911 only for a crash or a hazard. |
That split between 911 and #677 comes from ODOT’s Freeway Safety Patrol page. The Highway Patrol’s Help Center also lists (614) 466-2660 for assistance.
Call for towing help(419) 329-4502Free help on covered Toledo interstates
ODOT runs a free Freeway Safety Patrol in Toledo, Monday to Friday from 6 AM to 9 PM. Patrol drivers change flat tires, handle minor mechanical problems, provide small amounts of fuel and clear debris at crash scenes on these segments (ODOT):
- I-75 from SR-582 to I-475, and from I-475 to SR-184 (Alexis Rd)
- I-475 for its whole length, between its two I-75 junctions
- US-23 from I-475 to SR-184
- I-280 from SR-795 to I-75
ODOT does not list towing among the patrol’s services. If the car can’t be made drivable, you still need a tow truck, and at night or on weekends the patrol is off duty. For problems that can be fixed where the car sits, see roadside assistance.
When police or the Turnpike pick the tow truck
You don’t always get to choose who tows the car.
- After a crash: a sheriff, police chief, Highway Patrol trooper or fire chief, or someone acting for them, may remove, or order removed, an unoccupied vehicle that blocks the road or endangers safety, without the owner’s consent (ORC 4513.66). See accident recovery for what comes next.
- Left on the highway: a vehicle left on a public road for 48 hours or more, or one that obstructs traffic, can be ordered into storage (ORC 4513.61). The guide to finding a towed car in Toledo explains how to get it back.
- On the Ohio Turnpike: a disabled passenger car may only be towed off by a Turnpike contract garage, which moves it to the nearest exit, and passengers may not ride in the car while it is towed (OAC 5537-3-01). Dial #677 and read the Turnpike breakdown guide.
Off the Turnpike, and when police aren’t the ones ordering the tow, drivers can usually ask for a particular company. That is general practice, not a legal right: officers may call another wrecker when a car has to be cleared quickly.
Toledo roads where a breakdown gets complicated
- I-75 through downtown has closely spaced exits: 201A/B (Anthony Wayne Trail), 202A (Washington St) and 203B (US-24, Detroit Ave). Give the last exit you passed and your direction; “near downtown” is not enough. The I-75 breakdown guide walks through it.
- The I-475/US-23 loop wraps the west side from Perrysburg through Maumee to Sylvania. Its exits run from 2 near Perrysburg to 20 at I-75, so the exit number tells the dispatcher which side of town you’re on.
- I-280 and the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway: in winter, ice can fall from the bridge cables and block lanes. If you stall on the bridge, stay in the car with your belt on, and call 911 if you are in a lane. East of the river, I-280 runs through Northwood and Oregon to the Turnpike.
- US-24 and the Anthony Wayne Trail: US-24 is a freeway southwest of I-475 in Maumee. Closer in, the Anthony Wayne Trail (SR-25) is a busy surface road into downtown, so a stall there is a city-street breakdown: roll onto a side street or into a lot if the car still moves.
How a request works
- Once you are safe, call (419) 329-4502 or send a request.
- Give the road, direction, nearest exit or mile marker, and a landmark you can see.
- Describe the car: year, make, model and color, and whether it rolls, steers and shifts into neutral. Say if it is AWD or electric so a flatbed is sent.
- Say where the car should go, and ask for the total price and an arrival estimate before the truck is sent. Distance, traffic, weather and police closures all affect the arrival time.
- Wait with the car, or somewhere safe nearby, until the truck arrives.
The dispatcher checklist covers what to say in more detail.