Get off the road — if you can
The best breakdown is one that happens in a parking lot. If the truck is losing power, showing a warning light, or making a new noise, use whatever it has left to get somewhere safe: an exit, a truck stop, a wide shoulder, or a yard.
- Signal early, slow down gradually, and move as far right as you can.
- Avoid stopping on bridges, on ramps, in interchange merges, or just past a curve or rise where approaching drivers can’t see you.
- Don’t park over tall, dry grass. A hot exhaust or a DPF can start a fire.
- If a red stop-engine light, low oil pressure, or high coolant temperature warning comes on, stop as soon as it’s safe and shut the engine down.
If the truck stops in a travel lane and you can’t move it, turn on your hazards and call 911 before anything else.
Hazards on, triangles out
Federal rules (49 CFR 392.22) require the driver of a stopped commercial vehicle to turn on the hazard warning flashers immediately and keep them flashing until warning devices are placed. Warning devices must go out as soon as possible, and in any case within 10 minutes of stopping. Put on a high-visibility vest before walking along the truck.
Where the three triangles go depends on the road:
| Road type | Where to place the three triangles |
|---|---|
| Two-lane, two-way road | One about 10 feet (4 paces) from the truck on the traffic side, one about 100 feet (40 paces) behind, and one about 100 feet ahead |
| Divided highway or one-way road | All three behind the truck, toward approaching traffic: about 10, 100, and 200 feet (4, 40, and 80 paces) |
| Hill, curve, or other obstruction | Move the warning device on the approach side farther back — between 100 and 500 feet — so drivers see it in time |
Rules differ slightly inside city business and residential districts with good street lighting, but more warning is never wrong when it’s safe to place.
Call — and have this ready
Once you and the truck are as safe as you can make it, call. If you drive for a carrier, follow its breakdown procedure first — many fleets want you to call their breakdown line, which can then approve a local mechanic.
For a mobile mechanic, these details are the difference between a one-trip fix and a wasted trip:
- Exact location. Highway, direction of travel, and nearest mile marker or exit — or the truck stop, yard, or business name. Share a map pin if you can.
- Truck details. Year, make, model, and engine. Trailer type if the problem is on the trailer.
- Symptoms. Warning lights and codes, what happened right before, and anything you heard, saw, or smelled.
- Current state. Will it start? Is it derated? Are the brakes locked? Is anything leaking?
- Load. Loaded or empty, hazmat, and reefer setpoint if it applies.
- Contact. A callback number for whoever is with the truck.
Around the harbor, call Port of L.A. Mobile Diesel at (562) 261-8946 — dispatch is open 24 hours a day.
Wait safely
- Get away from traffic. If it’s safe, wait off the road — behind a guardrail or well away from the truck on the side away from traffic. Trucks stopped on shoulders do get hit.
- Don’t stand between the truck and traffic, or directly behind the trailer.
- Mind the marine layer. Coastal fog around the harbor cuts visibility badly at night and in the early morning. If you can barely see the truck ahead of you, approaching drivers can barely see yours — more warning distance, not less.
- Watch for fire. Smoke, a burning smell, or leaking fuel means get away from the truck and call 911.
- Don’t attempt repairs next to a live lane. Leave that work to a mechanic with proper lighting and equipment.
When the mechanic arrives
Tell the mechanic everything you told dispatch, plus anything that has changed. Have the keys, your paperwork, and any gate or yard access information ready. Before the truck leaves, ask what was found, what was repaired, and whether anything still needs a shop visit soon. Keep the itemized invoice with your maintenance records.
Port of L.A. specifics
- Get off the bridges. Neither the Vincent Thomas nor the Schuyler Heim has usable shoulder. If the truck will move at all, keep it moving until you are off the span. If it dies on a span, call 911 before you call a mechanic — that is a traffic emergency, not just a breakdown.
- Get out of the gate queue. A dead truck in a terminal queue lane blocks the terminal, and staff will move you before they help you. Roll clear if the truck has anything left.
- Surface streets beat freeways here. If you can choose between limping to Anaheim Street and stopping on the 710 shoulder, take the street. We reach you faster and work more safely.
- Terminal access is not ours to promise. Whether a service truck can come to you inside a marine terminal is the terminal operator’s decision, not ours. Tell dispatch exactly where you are and we will tell you straight what is possible.
- Know the berth or the pier letter. Operators change and gate signs do not always match what drivers call them. “Berth 136” and “Pier G” are unambiguous; a nickname is not.
- There is no truck stop on Terminal Island. No fuel, no parking, no shop. Plan around it, and do not set out across the island on a warning light.
General information only. This guide is written for drivers and dispatchers working the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Regulations change and every truck is different — when in doubt, follow your carrier's procedures, the current FMCSA and CARB regulations, the terminal operator's rules, and the instructions of law enforcement on scene.