Learn more about the NCDOT Safety Patrol
Being stranded on the roadside while traveling due to an issue with your vehicle can cause a series of challenges. Did you know that while traveling on North Carolina highways, when you need roadside assistance, help is just a phone call away?
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) operates a patrol that could get you back on the road. The NCDOT’s Safety Patrol, is a free service that provides roadway assistance to stranded motorists, regardless of their insurance provider. The safety patrol also clears roadways and provides temporary traffic control to help keep major roadways safe and traffic flowing smoothly.
Services include changing flat tires, providing gasoline or diesel and jump-starting batteries. In 2014, more than 70 patrol trucks helped some 100,000 motorists across the state.
Drivers who need help in an area covered by the NCDOT Safety Patrol can dial *HP (*47) from their mobile phone for assistance.
NCDOT Safety Patrol trucks are equipped with specialized tools, including:
Traffic control devices (lighted arrow boards, warning lights, traffic cones and air horns) to warn motorists of impending hazards.
Fuel, water, air pumps, jumper cables, vehicle jacks and other tools to quickly aid stranded drivers.
Specially designed push bumpers and winches to help clear travel lanes of disabled vehicles and debris.
Safety patrol vehicles are blue and white and have both NCDOT and GEICO logos on them as well as highly reflective safety markings to make them more visible to motorists, especially at night.
NCDOT is proud to team up with GEICO, the exclusive sponsor of the of NCDOT’s Incident Management Assistance Patrol Program, or IMAP, also known as the safety patrol. The sponsorship creates a long-term, supplemental funding source for the safety patrol program. The NCDOT Safety Patrol program is operated solely by the department’s personnel who are not authorized to contact GEICO on behalf of the motorists or assist in insurance claims.
Visit SafetyPatrolInfo.com to learn more about the program.
