If you are in an accident or your car breaks down, your first concern must be your safety and the safety of your passengers. Getting out on the spot to change a tire or check damage from a fender bender is probably one of the worst things you can do. The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) recommends the following precautions when your car breaks down:

Never get out of the vehicle to make a repair or examine the damage on the spot. Get the vehicle to a safe place before getting out.

If you can’t drive the vehicle, it may still be safer to stay in the vehicle and wait for help or use a cell phone to summon help. Standing outside the vehicle in the flow of traffic, under most circumstances, is a bad idea.

Carry flares or triangles for use to mark your location once you get to the side of the road. Marking your vehicle’s location to give other drivers advance warning of your location can be critical. Remember to put on your hazard lights!

In the case of a blowout or a flat tire, move the vehicle to a safer place before attempting a repair—even if it means destroying the wheel getting there. The cost of a tire, rim or wheel is relatively minor compared to a fatal injury.

Roadside tragedies remind us of the importance of having wide shoulders or safe places immediately available for motorists to use when they need them. When safe places are not readily available, motorists should move their vehicles to the nearest safe pull-off area.