Broken Down on I-90 in Illinois: What to Do, Step by Step

The First Two Minutes

1. Take your foot off the gas and steer to the right shoulder. Do not brake hard. Coast as far from the travel lanes as you can.
2. Turn on your hazard lights and leave them on, even in daylight.
3. Stop in the straightest section you can reach. A shoulder in the middle of a curve or at the crest of a hill is a bad place to be.
4. Turn your wheels away from traffic. If something hits the car, it will roll toward the grass, not the road.
5. Put the car in park and set the parking brake.

Then Call and Describe Where You Are

On a tollway there are few street names, so describe your surroundings. Give the direction you are heading, the last interchange you passed and the next one you can see. In our area, Belvidere Oasis and the Genoa Road and Irene Road interchanges are all helpful references. If your phone can share a location, use it.

Stay in the Car or Get Out?

In most cases, stay in the car with your seat belt fastened. A parked car is a shield, and a person on foot beside a highway is easy to miss. Get out only if there is a fire risk or the vehicle is in a position where it is likely to be struck. If you must exit, use the passenger side away from traffic, walk well behind the guardrail or up the embankment, and stay as far from the road as possible.

Keep children and pets in the car if it is safe and, if you leave the vehicle, keep them with you and away from the road.

Scott’s Law, Explained Simply

Illinois’ Move Over law, called Scott’s Law, tells drivers to slow down and, when it is safe, change lanes away from a stopped emergency vehicle with flashing lights. It also covers other vehicles stopped on the roadside with hazard lights flashing, including tow trucks. If lane changes are not possible, drivers should slow down and proceed with caution.

The law matters to you for two reasons. First, your hazard lights tell other drivers that they need to move over. Second, it explains why a tow driver working the shoulder parks the truck as a shield with beacons on. Leave room around the truck and wait for the driver to wave you in.

What Not to Do

• Do not try to change a tire on the traffic side of the car.
• Do not stand between the car and the travel lane.
• Do not accept help from an unmarked vehicle you did not call.
• Do not walk along the interstate to find an exit.
• Do not keep driving on a flat tire. It can destroy the wheel and make a tow harder.

When You Need a Tow, Not a Fix

If the engine overheated, the car will not start, a tire is shredded, or the car was hit, call for a tow. If it is a flat and you have a good spare, a roadside van can mount it. For the tire fix see our flat tire change page. For local response on the tollway corridor, our I-90 towing page explains what to expect, and our emergency towing page covers the rest.