What to tell a tow truck dispatcher

Before you call for a tow: are you safe?

A tow dispatcher can’t help with an emergency. Make the safety call first:

• Call 911 if anyone is hurt, there has been a crash, your car is stopped in a travel lane, or you feel unsafe (ODOT).
• Dial #677 for non-emergency help from the Ohio State Highway Patrol on a highway (OSHP).
• On the Ohio Turnpike, dial #677. Only a Turnpike contract garage may tow a disabled passenger car off the Turnpike (OAC 5537-3-01), so an outside towing company can’t take that call.

Once you are safe, have this page open and work down the list.

1. Your exact location

This is the single most useful thing you can give. A truck sent to the wrong side of the highway or the wrong end of a mall lot loses time for everyone.

On a highway

• Road and direction: “I-475 northbound,” “I-75 southbound”
• The last exit you passed and the next exit sign
• The nearest mile-marker post, if you can read it from the car
• A landmark: the DiSalle Bridge, the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway, the I-475 split, an overpass name

On a street or in a parking lot

• The street address, or the two nearest cross streets
• Which side of the street, or which entrance and row of the lot
• The business name if you’re in a store, office or apartment lot
• The community: a “Toledo” mailing address can be outside city limits, for example in Washington Township (township lot address), and the dispatcher needs to know which roads to take

Either way

• Share a map pin from your phone’s map app by text, if the dispatcher can receive one. It’s the most precise location you can give.

More highway detail, including a list of I-75 exits, is in our guide to breaking down on I-75 in Toledo.

2. Your safety status

Tell the dispatcher in one or two sentences:

• whether you are on a shoulder, in a lane, in a lot or in a driveway;
• whether you are in the car, and whether anyone is hurt;
• who is with you: children, an older passenger, a pet;
• whether police are already on scene;
• anything urgent: night, heavy snow, a phone battery running low.

3. Your vehicle

Not sure whether your car is all-wheel drive? Give the model; the dispatcher can check. Our AWD towing guide explains why it matters, and flatbed towing covers when a flatbed is needed.

4. Destination, passengers, payment and access

• Destination: the full address of the repair shop, dealer or your home. Check whether the shop is open, and whether it takes after-hours drop-offs.
• Passengers: say how many people need a ride. Whether anyone can ride in the tow truck depends on the operator and how many seats the cab has, so ask. On the Ohio Turnpike, no one may ride in a vehicle while it is being towed.
• Payment: ask what the driver accepts. If you have AAA or roadside coverage through your insurance, have the membership or policy number ready.
• Access: a parking garage height limit, a gate code, a narrow alley, a steep driveway or deep snow around the car.
• Photos: if the dispatcher asks, photos of where the car sits and any damage help them send the right equipment.

Questions to ask the dispatcher

Before you agree, ask:

1. What is the total price to take my car to this address? Is that a flat rate or a base fee plus mileage?
2. Are there extra charges for nights, weekends, winching, dollies or waiting time?
3. What type of truck are you sending: flatbed or wheel-lift?
4. About when will it arrive, and will the driver call or text when close?
5. What payment does the driver take?
6. Can I or my passengers ride along?
7. What is the company name, and how will I recognize the truck?
8. If the car has to go to your yard, what is storage per day and when can I pick it up?

The tow operator will confirm the price before hooking up. Arrival time depends on distance, traffic, weather, time of day and whether police have lanes closed, so treat any estimate as an estimate. Our tow cost guide explains what moves the price.

A script you can read out

Fill in your details and read it as written:

“Hi, I need a tow. I’m on I-475 northbound, just past Exit 8, Airport Highway, on the right shoulder. Nobody is hurt and I’m in the car with my hazards on. It’s a 2019 Subaru Outback, all-wheel drive, so I need a flatbed. It rolls and steers, and I have the key. I’d like it taken to my repair shop at [address]. There are two of us who need a ride. What will the total be, when do you expect to get here, and what payment do you take?”

For a parking lot, swap the first line: “I’m in the parking lot of [business] at [street and cross street] in [community], near the [entrance or row].”

Calling through Toledo-Towing.com

Toledo-Towing.com passes your request to an independent towing or roadside provider serving Toledo and nearby communities such as Sylvania, Maumee, Perrysburg and Oregon. Call (419) 329-4502 and give the details above, or send a request if you’re somewhere safe and it isn’t urgent. When the provider calls you back, ask the questions above.

For a breakdown on a roadside, see emergency towing. For a dead battery, flat tire or empty tank, roadside assistance may get you going without a tow, and a car lockout service handles keys locked inside.