Towing

Emergency towing, day or night

A car that dies in your own driveway is an inconvenience. A car that dies in the second lane of I-275 at eleven at night is something else, and it is worth knowing what to do in the first sixty seconds. Most of what follows is about keeping you safe while the truck is on its way, because that part is on you and it matters more than anything we do afterwards.

Call 656-777-2980

Where emergencies actually happen

On the shoulder of I-275, I-4 or I-75, where traffic is passing a metre away at seventy.
On a bridge — the Howard Frankland, the Gandy, the Courtney Campbell — where there is barely a shoulder at all.
On the Selmon Expressway, elevated, with nowhere to walk to.
Stopped in a live lane after a breakdown or a collision, which is the most dangerous of all.
In an intersection or a turn lane where you are blocking traffic.
At night or in heavy rain, when other drivers will see you late.
In an empty lot or a garage after everything has closed, where the danger is different but you still should not be walking.

What to do while you wait

1Hazard lights on immediately, before anything else. That is what makes you visible and, in Florida, what puts the law on your side.
2If the car still moves, get it off the roadway and as far onto the shoulder as you can, ideally past the white line and beyond a guardrail gap.
3Stay in the car with your seatbelt fastened. People assume standing outside is safer. On a Florida interstate the opposite is true — the car is a steel shell and the shoulder is not.
4If you must get out, leave by the passenger side, away from traffic, and stand well behind the guardrail rather than beside the car.
5Call and give us the road, the direction of travel and the nearest exit number or mile marker. Direction matters as much as the road — the wrong side of a divided highway is a long way round.
6Anyone hurt: 911 first, us second.

What it costs

An emergency tow costs the same as any other local tow. From $95 for the run out plus a set towing distance, then a flat rate per extra mile.

There is no night surcharge, no weekend surcharge and no holiday surcharge. Three in the morning on New Year’s Day is priced like two in the afternoon on a Tuesday.

You get the figure on the phone before the truck sets off, which is the point at which you can still say no.

Local tow from $95. We will not give you an arrival time over the internet that we might not keep — call and we will tell you where the truck actually is.

Emergency Towing — common questions

Should I get out of the car and stand behind it?

On a highway, no. Stay belted in with the hazards on. The most dangerous place on an interstate shoulder is standing next to a stopped car. If you have to get out, use the passenger door and get well behind a barrier.

Does the law protect me while I am stopped?

It does, and more than people realise. Florida’s Move Over law now covers any vehicle stopped on the roadside with hazard lights flashing — not just police and tow trucks. Drivers must change lanes, or slow to 20 mph under the limit if they cannot. Your hazard lights are what triggers that protection, so put them on straight away.

Do you charge more at night?

No. Same base price at any hour, on any day of the year. We do not think you should pay extra for having bad luck after dark.

My car is stopped in a live lane. What now?

Call 911 as well as us. A vehicle blocking a lane needs traffic control, not just a tow truck, and the police can shut the lane so the recovery happens safely. Do not stand in the roadway trying to push it.

How quickly can you get there?

We will not give you a number over the internet that we might not keep — traffic on I-275 makes any promise like that dishonest. Call and we will tell you where the truck actually is and what that means for you.

Other things we do

Light-Duty Towing

Cars, SUVs, vans and pickups moved anywhere around Tampa Bay.

Accident Recovery

Damaged vehicles loaded carefully and taken where you choose.

Car Won’t Start or Won’t Drive

Dead engine, gearbox or overheating — loaded and taken to a shop.

All services →

Need this right now?

A real person picks up, day or night. Open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Call 656-777-2980 Common questions