Roadside breakdown: the first ten minutes
The regulation gives you ten minutes to get warning devices out. Here is the order to do things in, and the section behind each step.
- Author
- Relay Dispatch Desk
- Published
- 17 Aug 2026
- Verified
- 15 Aug 2026
- Re-checked
- annually
Key takeaways
- Hazard lights go on immediately and stay on until the warning devices are placed.
- Warning devices are due as soon as possible and in any event within ten minutes.
- The placement pattern changes on a divided or one-way highway, and again on a hill or a curve.
- Write down what failed while you are waiting — it is the same information the DVIR needs.
A stop on the shoulder is the most dangerous thing most drivers do in a working week, and the rule that governs it is four sentences long. Take it in this order.
Hazard lights, immediately
The hazard warning signal flashers go on as soon as the vehicle stops on the travelled portion of a highway or the shoulder, and they stay on until the warning devices are in place.
Stop where you can be seen
Distance from a crest or a curve matters more than distance from the shoulder line. If you have any choice at all, spend it on sight lines.
Warning devices out, inside ten minutes
As soon as possible, and in any event within ten minutes. Three bidirectional reflective triangles, or six fusees — the equipment § 393.95 already requires you to carry.
Place them for the road you are on
On a two-lane road: about 10 feet behind, 100 feet behind, and 100 feet ahead. On a divided or one-way highway: 10, 100 and 200 feet toward approaching traffic. On a hill or curve where you cannot be seen from 500 feet, move the furthest device 100 to 500 feet back to give that warning.
Call it in
Dispatch first if the vehicle is safe and secure; emergency services first if it is not. Give the road, the direction, the nearest mile marker and whether you are blocking a lane.
Write it down while you wait
What failed, what it sounded like, what the gauges read. The driver vehicle inspection report needs a defect described well enough for a mechanic to act on it.
Sources
- eCFR (GPO/OFR) · 49 CFR § 392.22 — Emergency signals; stopped commercial motor vehicles · 49 CFR § 392.22 · accessed 15 Aug 2026
- eCFR (GPO/OFR) · 49 CFR § 393.95 — Emergency equipment on all power units · 49 CFR § 393.95 · accessed 15 Aug 2026
- eCFR (GPO/OFR) · 49 CFR § 396.11 — Driver vehicle inspection report · 49 CFR § 396.11 · accessed 15 Aug 2026
Re-verified annually. Educational summary — the regulation controls. Not legal advice.
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