No matter if you are a driving pro or a vigilant motorist, accidents and mishaps are inevitable — sometimes skidding your car into a ditch. Whether it’s because of slippery road conditions, mechanical failure, or reckless mistakes, getting stuck in a ditch is certainly no less than a nightmare. In such a situation, a sense of panic and frustration is normal. However, you need to learn how to tackle it calmly and efficiently by winch out service.
On such occasions, you often need to call a winch out service to get you back on the road, as without proper tools and training, doing it yourself will worsen the issue. Let’s dive in to learn what to do when a car is stuck in a ditch: who to call for a winch out service?
Car Stuck In a Ditch: Who to call and What to do?
Typically, veering or skidding off the road are the common causes of getting caught in a ditch. Distracted driving, intoxicated driving, human error or inclement weather are the main reasons to skid off or lose control of your car. You need to take serious yet careful action to get your car out of the ditch.
If your vehicle has skidded off and you are intoxicated, pulling, pushing, or getting back to your seat won’t work. Instead, calling a winch out service for immediate help would be the best solution to bring back the vehicle on the road safely.
You might be interested in The Dangers of Alcohol and How to Avoid Them
If you want to learn tips on how to get a car out of a ditch. Here are some of the safe driving steps/tips to follow:
Ensure Safety First
Whenever you find your car in a ditch, hit the hazard light button. And most importantly, don’t forget to assess everyone’s condition in the car. Pay attention to head & neck injuries, assess shortness of breath, chest tightness and other heart attack symptoms.
Make sure that nobody is injured, as accident injuries are not immediately apparent, so if you find a severe injury, don’t delay calling 911. Meanwhile, provide first aid to the injured person. The paramedics can check the injuries on-site without moving the injured person to the hospital.
Get Quick Winch Out with SPN America
Try Lightening the Vehicle
Luckily, if you are stuck in a sort of flat ditch and your car is not damaged, you may be able to get it out of the ditch. To do it, lighten your car by removing the excess weight like passengers, cargo or spare tires, etc. As a lightweight car is easy to maneuver. Before doing it, make sure that your car is protected from oncoming traffic.
You should then try gently pushing the accelerator to free your car from the ditch while undoing the parking brake. Remember, don’t slam on the gas; this will just cause the wheel to spin and dig, leaving you in a hole. Instead, gently press the gas to check whether lightening the weight gets any traction.
Gain Traction
If you are stuck in a dry or flat ditch – where there is no mud or water- then lightening it would allow your wheels to get traction to the surface, getting you out of the ditch. On the other hand, if you’re stuck in snow, mud or water, the more weight would work in your favor allowing your wheels to get traction.
However, hitting the gas won’t work as mud and water make it slippery. In such a case, you need to put something hard like stone, gravel, and flattened cardboards under the tire to get traction. If your vehicle is a front-wheel, put these things in front of your tire. If it’s a rear-wheel vehicle, put them behind your rear wheels.
You may also read: Ways to Avoid Getting your Vehicle Stuck in Sand, Mud, Dirt, or Snow
Car Stuck in a Ditch: Who to Call
After trying a few times, don’t keep on trying and call professional help. Remember that if you don’t know how to use the tools, avoid pulling or winching your car on your own. This could be a costly mistake or lead to severe damage to your car’s frame and bumpers. Also, you may suffer an injury during the process. So, calling a towing truck service (like SPN America) to winch out your car safely would be the ideal solution.
Once you call the towing company, during the wait, take out your valuables from the vehicle that are in your use, such as phone chargers or glasses. We also recommend you document your car’s damage with your phone by taking pictures, and these will help you to get your insurance claim.
The Bottom Line
Now that you know what to do and who to call when your car is stuck in a ditch. You need to be ready for any unforeseen circumstances. So whenever your vehicle goes out of control and lands in a ditch. Don’t panic. Ensure everyone is safe. If someone is injured, call for emergency help. Unload your vehicle to get traction.
On the flip side, load it if your car is in snow, mud or water. Put rocks or something tough below the tires to get traction. Still, if it doesn’t work, you need to call us to connect you to the best towing service provider in your area.
You may also read: A Comprehensive Guide to Driving Safely in the Snow
Get Winch Out Service From SPN America
For safe, professional and reliable towing services, count on SPN America Roadside — a platform connecting customers to trusted towing and roadside assistance providers. We are on the mission to alleviate the trouble of getting back to the road. We know the pain, frustration and distress of getting stuck in a ditch and waiting for exhausting phone calls.
Under our network, our tow service providers have all the proper equipment, and expertise to take your vehicle out of a ditch safely and undamaged at an affordable cost. If the car is not in a condition to get on the road, the tow company can take it to the auto shop of your choice.
So, now that you know whenever and wherever your car is stuck in a ditch: who to call for a winch out service? SPN America Towing Service Network! We are a reliable and certified company to find and get roadside assistance near your vicinity. Say bye to long hours, waits and hefty membership fees as our towing service providers will reach your spot in time and charge only for the service you use.
So, call SPN America Roadside to get the best towing and roadside assistance experience.