What to Do If You Run Out of Gas on the Road

It's entirely preventable and still one of our most common calls: the tank runs dry somewhere inconvenient. Handled right, it's also one of the easier situations to recover from.

1. Coast toward the shoulder while you still can

   Use whatever momentum is left to get as far off the road as possible before the engine actually dies.

2. Hazards on right away

   So traffic sees you've stopped before they're right on top of you.

3. Don't walk a highway shoulder looking for gas

   That's genuinely dangerous. Call for fuel delivery instead.

4. Have fuel brought to you

   Plenty of roadside services will drop off a few gallons on the spot, no tow required.

5. Stay inside with your belt on if that's safer

   On a busy road especially, the inside of the car beats standing on the shoulder.

6. Refuel earlier next time

   A quarter tank is a better cutoff than running it to empty, particularly before any highway drive.