Tri-County REACT | St. Louis Missouri | Motorist Assist Program

When you see a car on the right shoulder of the highway and you are planning to stop to help, you should:

Be in the right lane of the highway. If you are in the middle lane, don't turn on your amber lights and shoot across the highway to get to the vehicle on the shoulder. This could cause an accident and make things worse. Instead, go to the next exit, turn around, and come back to the motorist....chances are he'll still be there.

If you are already in the right lane, turn on your amber lights about 2000 feet behind the motorist on the shoulder and immediately get onto the shoulder to slow down and stop.

Stop about two or three car lengths behind the car on the shoulder and keep your amber lights on the entire time you are stopped on the shoulder. The reason for stopping so far behind the motorist is if a car were to crash into the back of your car, your car will move forward and you want to leave enough distance between your car and the motorist you are helping so your car isn't pushed into the back of his vehicle.

Get as far to the right of the shoulder as you can.

Don't block the traffic lane on a highway even if the vehicle you are helping is stalled in the lane. If it is blocking a lane, stop on the shoulder with your lights on, throw out flares and traffic cones behind the vehicle, and call 911.

When you step out of your vehicle, watch the traffic in your left side mirror and make sure you can safely open your door.

Make sure you are wearing your reflective vest, you have a cell phone or a 2-way radio (turned on to your team's frequency), and you have a bright flashlight turned on (if it's night).

If you can, walk up to the passenger side of the vehicle you are checking on. It might inconvenience the driver to lean over and roll down the window, but you will be safer on that side.

Identify to the motorist who you are, who you are with, and why you are there. For example, "Good evening sir (or ma'am). My name is Joe and I'm with REACT. We run a volunteer motorist assist program and I just stopped to see if you needed any help tonight." Give your REACT business card to the motorist.

If the motorist says something like thanks for your offer to help but I have my cell phone with me and have a tow truck on the way, offer to just stay behind them in your vehicle with your emergency lights on until their help arrives. A lot of people are a little nervous about sitting on the shoulder of a busy highway at night.

If they say they need help then find out what the problem is and how you can help them.

If the motorist has a flat tire, you should first make an assessment in your head if you can safely change the tire. Meaning, if the flat tire is on the left side, are you going to be putting yourself in danger by kneeling on the white line or in the right lane to change it. Assuming you can safely change it, ask the driver if he or she would like you to change the tire for free. If they say yes, then ask the driver to put on the emergency brake. First loosen the lugnuts while the flat tire is still on the car. Use your hydraulic jack to raise the car (you can position it under the side rail by the flat tire, under the axle, or under the shock absorber). Take off the lugnuts. Remove the flat tire and put the spare tire on. Put the lugnuts back on and tighten them. Lower the car back to the ground. Tighten the lugnuts one more time.

Don't become a mechanic and try to repair their engine on the spot if they say their engine just quit. You are just there to make the scene as safe as possible for them and to get them out of there as quickly as possible. The shoulder of the Interstate is not a good place to try and fix an engine. Besides, if you break something while trying to fix the engine, you could be held liable for damages. Instead, ask the motorist if he or she can pop open the hood so you can take a quick look. Just look for the obivous...something like a broken belt or a puddle of fluid on the ground under the car. Whether you find the problem or not, suggest to the motorist that they call for a tow truck.

Offer your cell phone for the motorist to use to either call someone to pick them up or call for a tow truck. If they want a tow truck, have a list with you of local tow companies and their phone numbers. If you don't have a list of tow companies for the motorist to choose from and call for a tow truck it might appear to the motorist that you are affiliated with that tow company.

Stay with the motorist until the tow truck arrives and tows them away. While the tow truck driver is hooking up the car, you might want to stand in-between your car and the motorist with your traffic wand and wave cars out of the right lane while the tow truck driver is standing on the white line hooking up the car.

After the tow truck leaves, wait for the right lane to clear and pull back out into traffic. Keep your amber lights on until you reach highway speeds



Tri-County REACT Motorist Assist Program
	In 1998, three of our members (way back before Tri-County REACT existed and they were members of Gateway REACT) started patrolling St. Louis highways in the evenings looking for stranded motorists that needed help. Soon after, four more members of Gateway REACT joined them on the highways and they soon spit from Gateway REACT to form their own team called Tri-County REACT. Since then, our team has grown and we have helped several thousand motorists in need on St. Louis highways. We have also gone from police officers asking "what's REACT?" in the beginning of our motorist assist program to now officers radioing to their dispatcher "REACT is on the scene to help the motorist.....I'll be leaving the scene to them". We have received several requests for posting some basic rules/guidelines/safety procedures that we follow when we stop to assist a motorist so other less experienced REACT teams can start their own motorist assist programs. This document establishes some basic rules/guidelines/safety procedures based on our training we have received from MODOT and our own experience with helping stranded motorists over the past few years. We are not claiming that these guidelines should be followed exactly, but we encourage our members and any REACT team that wants to start their own motorist assist program to at least consider these safety procedures. These motorist assist guidelines were drafted July 2002.
Safety Procedures
Your vehicle should have a flashing amber light. Most of the lights should face the rear to give approaching cars warning and enough time to slow down. Your vehicle should have at least one amber light facing forward. This lets the people in the disabled car know you are stopping on the shoulder to help them and not driving down the shoulder about to hit them. Travel in teams of two persons per vehicle or two vehicles with one person in each vehicle (three vehicles stopping to help one motorist is too many). Make sure you have a way to talk to each other if you and the other member of your team are in separate vehicles. Wear your team's uniform and a reflective vest that has REACT or the name of your REACT team on it. You are standing on the shoulder of a highway with cars traveling 60mph or more....the more visible you are, the safer you will be.
Motorist Assist Procedures
When you see a car on the right shoulder of the highway and you are planning to stop to help, you should: Be in the right lane of the highway. If you are in the middle lane, don't turn on your amber lights and shoot across the highway to get to the vehicle on the shoulder. This could cause an accident and make things worse. Instead, go to the next exit, turn around, and come back to the motorist....chances are he'll still be there. If you are already in the right lane, turn on your amber lights about 2000 feet behind the motorist on the shoulder and immediately get onto the shoulder to slow down and stop. Stop about two or three car lengths behind the car on the shoulder and keep your amber lights on the entire time you are stopped on the shoulder. The reason for stopping so far behind the motorist is if a car were to crash into the back of your car, your car will move forward and you want to leave enough distance between your car and the motorist you are helping so your car isn't pushed into the back of his vehicle. Get as far to the right of the shoulder as you can. Don't block the traffic lane on a highway even if the vehicle you are helping is stalled in the lane. If it is blocking a lane, stop on the shoulder with your lights on, throw out flares and traffic cones behind the vehicle, and call 911. When you step out of your vehicle, watch the traffic in your left side mirror and make sure you can safely open your door. Make sure you are wearing your reflective vest, you have a cell phone or a 2-way radio (turned on to your team's frequency), and you have a bright flashlight turned on (if it's night). If you can, walk up to the passenger side of the vehicle you are checking on. It might inconvenience the driver to lean over and roll down the window, but you will be safer on that side. Identify to the motorist who you are, who you are with, and why you are there. For example, "Good evening sir (or ma'am). My name is Joe and I'm with REACT. We run a volunteer motorist assist program and I just stopped to see if you needed any help tonight." Give your REACT business card to the motorist. If the motorist says something like thanks for your offer to help but I have my cell phone with me and have a tow truck on the way, offer to just stay behind them in your vehicle with your emergency lights on until their help arrives. A lot of people are a little nervous about sitting on the shoulder of a busy highway at night. If they say they need help then find out what the problem is and how you can help them. If the motorist has a flat tire, you should first make an assessment in your head if you can safely change the tire. Meaning, if the flat tire is on the left side, are you going to be putting yourself in danger by kneeling on the white line or in the right lane to change it. Assuming you can safely change it, ask the driver if he or she would like you to change the tire for free. If they say yes, then ask the driver to put on the emergency brake. First loosen the lugnuts while the flat tire is still on the car. Use your hydraulic jack to raise the car (you can position it under the side rail by the flat tire, under the axle, or under the shock absorber). Take off the lugnuts. Remove the flat tire and put the spare tire on. Put the lugnuts back on and tighten them. Lower the car back to the ground. Tighten the lugnuts one more time. Don't become a mechanic and try to repair their engine on the spot if they say their engine just quit. You are just there to make the scene as safe as possible for them and to get them out of there as quickly as possible. The shoulder of the Interstate is not a good place to try and fix an engine. Besides, if you break something while trying to fix the engine, you could be held liable for damages. Instead, ask the motorist if he or she can pop open the hood so you can take a quick look. Just look for the obivous...something like a broken belt or a puddle of fluid on the ground under the car. Whether you find the problem or not, suggest to the motorist that they call for a tow truck. Offer your cell phone for the motorist to use to either call someone to pick them up or call for a tow truck. If they want a tow truck, have a list with you of local tow companies and their phone numbers. If you don't have a list of tow companies for the motorist to choose from and call for a tow truck it might appear to the motorist that you are affiliated with that tow company. Stay with the motorist until the tow truck arrives and tows them away. While the tow truck driver is hooking up the car, you might want to stand in-between your car and the motorist with your traffic wand and wave cars out of the right lane while the tow truck driver is standing on the white line hooking up the car. After the tow truck leaves, wait for the right lane to clear and pull back out into traffic. Keep your amber lights on until you reach highway speeds
Vehicle Equipment List
Cell phone GMRS or ham radio Maps of your area List of tow companies and phone numbers (24hr & AAA preferred) List of local police department non-emergency numbers Reflective traffic cones Road flares Reflective vest (with REACT or your organization's name) 4 way tire iron Hydraulic jack Portable air compressor (plugs into cigarette lighter) Flashlight (and a cone for the top of it or a separate traffic wand) Gas container Antifreeze Water Tools First aid kit Window punch Seat belt cutter Fire extinguisher Crowbar
Site created November 27, 1999 and maintained by Tri-County REACT