How to Safely Signal for Help on a Texas Highway
Hazard lights, flares vs. LED triangles, and the safest position to stand while waiting for a tow.
Hazard lights, flares vs. LED triangles, and the safest position to stand while waiting for a tow. In this guide, we cover everything DFW drivers need to know about this topic — from practical safety steps to understanding what to expect from a professional towing company.
The Safety Gear Every Texas Driver Should Carry
A well-stocked emergency kit in your trunk can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and a dangerous situation. At a minimum, every vehicle in Texas should carry: LED road flares or reflective triangles, a jumper cable set or lithium jump starter, a tire plug kit and portable air compressor, a basic first aid kit, water (one gallon minimum), and a fully charged portable phone charger.
The items most commonly missing from driver emergency kits are reflective triangles and a portable phone charger. Reflective triangles are inexpensive and dramatically reduce the risk of a secondary collision at your breakdown scene. A charged phone charger ensures that a dead phone battery doesn't prevent you from calling for help — something that happens more often than you'd expect.
How to Safely Change a Tire on a Texas Highway
Changing a flat tire on a Texas highway is one of the most dangerous activities a civilian performs on public roads. If you're on an interstate or high-speed divided highway, the safest decision is to drive slowly to the nearest exit, even if it means destroying the tire. A $200 tire is far cheaper than the risk of being struck by a passing vehicle on a freeway shoulder.
If you must change a tire on a shoulder: activate hazards, deploy reflective triangles behind the vehicle, never stand behind or in front of the car relative to traffic, and keep your body on the traffic-side of the vehicle as little as possible. Chock the opposite wheels before releasing the lug nuts if you carry wheel chocks. And never, under any circumstances, lie under a vehicle that's only supported by a scissor jack — a passing truck's wake pressure can shift it.
Jump Starting a Modern Vehicle Correctly
Modern vehicles with sophisticated electronics are more sensitive to jump-start procedure errors than older cars. Always connect in the correct sequence: positive (red) to dead battery positive, positive to good battery positive, negative (black) to good battery negative, and finally negative to an unpainted metal ground on the dead car — not the negative battery terminal. This sequence minimizes the electrical spike when the circuit is completed.
Never jump-start a vehicle with a swollen, cracked, or leaking battery — these are signs of internal failure that can cause the battery to explode when current flows through it. And never allow the jumper cable clamps to touch each other once connected to either battery. The spark produced can ignite hydrogen gas that batteries emit during charging, with serious consequences.
Ready for Help Now?
NW Towing & Transportation has the equipment, the training, and the local knowledge to handle exactly this type of situation across all of DFW. Don't hesitate to call 214-882-0100 at any hour — our dispatch team operates around the clock, 365 days a year, because breakdowns and towing needs certainly do too.