These steps follow the advice Dubai Police give motorists whose vehicles stop unexpectedly.
Turn on the hazard lights, check your mirrors and ease off the accelerator rather than braking sharply. Head for an exit if one is close, otherwise pull onto the shoulder on the right.
Once stopped, get passengers out on the side furthest from traffic and lead them well away from the carriageway.
If walking back is safe, place a warning triangle a good distance behind the car so approaching traffic has time to react.
If the car is stranded in a moving lane or anyone is hurt, dial 999. If you are safely off the road, ring for roadside help instead.
Give an exact location pin, the make, model and colour, and a brief account of what happened just before the car stopped.
Call 999 for the police after a crash, if the car is stuck in a live lane or if anyone is in danger. Dial 998 for an ambulance and 997 for the fire service. Dubai Police also run 901 for matters that are not urgent. A flat battery, puncture or empty tank on a safe shoulder needs a breakdown technician, not the emergency services.
Our vans carry jump packs, battery testers, replacement batteries, wheel tools and fuel, so many breakdowns are sorted on the spot.
When a fault cannot be repaired at the kerb, a tow is arranged to a garage or another address you choose.
How the usual call-outs are handled, with published starting prices where they exist.
What you pay can change with the car model, where you are and the fault itself.
100%
Live scan · Car condition
Running
Now checking: Heat and batteries
High temperatures speed up the chemical wear inside a battery, so failures can arrive with very little warning.
Punctures, sidewall cuts and blowouts at speed all leave a car needing a wheel change before it can move safely.
Long cross-emirate commutes and slow traffic can stretch the last of a tank further than the gauge suggested.
An alternator that stops charging lets the battery drain on the move until the electrics fade and the engine stalls.
Even a minor bump can leave a car unsafe to drive, turning a quick fix into a tow.
A shared location pin is the most useful thing you can send. Long stretches of Dubai's major roads look alike, and a landmark alone may not show which carriageway you are on.
Then describe what the car did before it stopped: a click with no crank, a bang from a tyre, a warning lamp, or a gauge sitting on empty.
Official UAE guidance is to phone the police on 999 after a road accident, give your location and follow their instructions. If nobody is injured, the cars can be moved to the shoulder so traffic keeps flowing, and you should wait at least 15 metres from your vehicle.
If someone is hurt, leave every vehicle exactly where it is until help arrives. Dubai Police also stress that the hard shoulder is for genuine emergencies, so after a minor bump on a motorway it is better to take the next exit before checking the damage.
Save it in your phone before you need it.
Switch on your hazards and steer for the next slip road or the hard shoulder on the right. Once stopped, get everyone out and away from traffic, set a triangle only if it is safe, and call 999 if the car is left in a live lane.
Get yourself and your passengers somewhere safe first, then phone or WhatsApp us with a map pin and a short note on what went wrong.
