Broken down on the Ohio Turnpike near Toledo: what happens

First steps if you break down on the Turnpike

The Ohio Turnpike (I-80/I-90) runs across the southern edge of the Toledo area, and it has its own rules for disabled vehicles. Start with these steps.

1. Use the right shoulder. Turnpike rules ban stopping on the lanes, ramps, bridges, shoulders or median, with one emergency exception: you may stop on the shoulder next to the outer lane, in your direction of travel, with every wheel, part and load completely clear of the traffic lanes (OAC 5537-2-15). So the right shoulder, not the median.
2. Turn on your hazard lights and put out any warning devices you carry, if you can do it without walking in traffic. The same rule says required warning devices must be displayed.
3. Stay in the car with your seat belt on unless you can get well away from traffic. Ohio’s driver handbook says to stay in your vehicle until help arrives (Digest of Ohio Motor Vehicle Laws, Section 10).
4. Dial #677. The Turnpike’s home page gives #677 for emergency assistance on the Turnpike. Call 911 if anyone is hurt, there has been a crash or the car is stuck in a lane.
5. Say where you are: eastbound (toward Cleveland) or westbound (toward Indiana), the nearest milepost and the last interchange you passed.
6. Say what you drive, especially if it is all-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, hybrid or electric, so a suitable truck is sent.

Who is allowed to tow you off the Turnpike

This is where the Turnpike differs from I-75 or I-475. Ohio’s Turnpike rule for disabled vehicles says a passenger vehicle that has to be towed or pushed off is moved to the nearest exit by a service vehicle from an official Turnpike contract garage (OAC 5537-3-01).

The Turnpike Commission confirmed this in October 2025, answering a question from companies bidding on its disabled-vehicle contract. It said Commission-contracted vendors must be used when a passenger vehicle needs to be towed off the roadway. It also said any vendor may come onto the Turnpike through the AAA service for jobs like lockouts and jump starts, and that all of its contract vendors are AAA-approved (Addendum No. 1 to RFP 26-2025).

In practice: you cannot call your own tow company to tow your car off the Turnpike. Toledo-Towing.com can’t send a truck onto it either. Dial #677 for help; a tow off the Turnpike has to come from the contract garage for that stretch.

Toledo-area interchanges and the contract zone

These are the Turnpike’s own names for the interchanges around Toledo (interchange list). The exit number is also the approximate milepost, which helps when you describe your location.

The Commission buys disabled-vehicle service in seven zones of about 35 miles each. Under the contract that runs from March 1, 2026 to February 28, 2029, Zone 2 covers milepost 35.0 to 72.0 (Pemberville Rd), which takes in Exits 39, 52, 59, 64 and 71. The Commission may adjust zone limits slightly. Which company holds Zone 2 was not published in the documents we reviewed, so we do not name one.

What the contract garage must do, and what you’ll pay

The Commission’s 2025 request for proposals sets the ground rules for its disabled-vehicle operators:

• They must hold annual PUCO authorization, a USDOT registration and AAA-approved operator status.
• They must accept all major credit cards.
• Their charges are governed by the Commission’s “Maximum Rates and Fee Schedule” and each operator’s approved price list.
• They may not charge Turnpike customers more for parts, repairs and labor than the prevailing rates in their service area.

The fee schedule itself was not in the public documents, so we can’t tell you what a Turnpike tow costs. Ask the operator for the total before the car is loaded, and ask for an itemized receipt. For questions afterward, the Turnpike’s Customer Service Center is at (440) 971-2222, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, excluding holidays.

Passengers, AWD cars and what happens after the exit

Passengers. Turnpike rules say no one may ride in a vehicle while it is being towed or pushed on the Turnpike (OAC 5537-3-01). Whether you and your passengers can ride in the tow truck’s cab depends on the operator and how many seats it has, so ask when help arrives, especially with children or at night.

AWD, 4x4 and electric vehicles. Carmakers generally say these should travel with all four wheels off the ground. Tell the #677 dispatcher and the operator what you drive. Our guide to towing an AWD vehicle explains why.

After the exit. The rule only says the car is moved to the nearest exit. We found nothing in the Turnpike’s rules or contract documents that spells out what happens next: whether the car goes to the operator’s lot, what storage costs, or whether another company can take it on from there. Ask the contract operator before the car is loaded:

• Where exactly are you taking the car?
• Can a different towing company pick it up from there, and when?
• Are there storage or release charges if it waits overnight?
• Can you take it straight to my repair shop instead, and what would that cost?

Once the car is off the Turnpike, Turnpike rules no longer apply to the next leg. If you want it moved on to a Toledo-area shop, a dealer or home, call (419) 329-4502 and your request for a flatbed tow or, for a trip to another city, long-distance towing goes to a local provider. The Turnpike exits closest to town lead to Maumee (Exit 59), the Perrysburg and Rossford area (Exit 64), and I-280 north through Northwood (Exit 71).

Snow emergencies, abandoned cars and other Turnpike rules

• Lucas County snow emergencies do not close the Turnpike. A Lucas County Level 3 snow emergency limits county roads to emergency and essential travel, but it does not apply to Ohio Turnpike traffic (University of Toledo summary). The same #677 rules apply there in any weather.
• Don’t leave the car without telling anyone. A vehicle parked illegally or abandoned on the Turnpike without a police officer’s permission is towed off and impounded at the owner’s expense, and it is not released until the towing, storage and other charges are paid (OAC 5537-2-16).
• Drive on the shoulder only in an emergency or when an officer directs it (OAC 5537-2-14, in the same chapter).
• Move over or slow down for stopped public safety and highway maintenance vehicles. The Turnpike’s safe driving tips call it the law.

If you’re not on the Turnpike yet

If you broke down on I-75, I-475 or I-280 before reaching the Turnpike’s toll plazas, ordinary Ohio highway rules apply, and you can usually ask for the towing company you prefer unless police need the car moved right away. See what to do when your car breaks down on I-75, or arrange roadside assistance for a jump start, lockout or flat tire. Before you call any provider, read what to tell a tow truck dispatcher.