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Breakdown Response Plan

A breakdown on a rural road or in a field is easier to handle when the decisions were made weeks earlier. A short written plan keeps people calm and safe.

Why plan for a breakdown before it happens?

Breakdowns tend to come at bad times: during harvest, in bad weather, on a narrow road with traffic behind you. Under stress, people improvise, and improvised choices are where injuries happen.

A plan does not need to be long. It needs to answer a few questions: who do you call, what do you do first, and when do you stop trying to fix it yourself.

Involve the whole farm. A plan that the owner knows but the hired help does not is only half a plan, so go over it at the start of each season and again whenever someone new begins work.

What should you do first when a machine stops?

Protect people before the machine. If you can, move the vehicle off the traveled part of the road using its own power. If you cannot, turn on hazard lights and any warning devices that came with the machine, and keep yourself and others away from the road side where traffic passes.

Rules about warning lights, signs and flags for slow vehicles vary by state. Check with your state highway patrol or department of transportation, and do not rely on memory from another state.

If you are on a road with limited sight lines, such as a hill or a curve, take extra care about where you stand while you wait. Help can be a long time coming, and your own position matters more than the position of the vehicle.

• Hazard lights on
• Move away from traffic to a safe spot
• Keep children and passengers clear of the road
• Call for help before attempting repairs

Who should you be able to call?

Keep a short contact list in the cab, in the shop and on each driver's phone: family or farm partner, your dealer service line, a tow or recovery service, your insurer and the county road department. Add 911 for any injury or when the vehicle is a danger to traffic.

Test the list. Phone coverage is patchy in many rural areas, so know where signal is reliable and whether a two-way radio or other backup is worth having. See the communications article on this site.

Add your own farm address and the names of nearby roads to the card, since a helper calling in for you may not know them.

How should you describe your location?

Dispatchers and helpers cannot reach you if they do not know where you are. Learn the road names, nearest crossroads, mile markers where they exist, and the farm address that your county uses for emergency services.

A map app on a phone can display coordinates, and a farm map with named fields shared with every worker helps when the usual landmarks are hard to describe.

When is a roadside repair a bad idea?

Working on a machine at the roadside, on a slope, under a raised implement or near traffic adds risk to a problem you already have. If the fix needs lifting, supporting, lockout or work around hydraulics, fuel or electrical systems, wait for qualified help.

Ask your dealer or a trained mechanic what simple checks are reasonable for a driver to do and what is not. Never rely on a jack, loader or stand not designed for the job to hold a load while you are underneath.

If a breakdown involves fuel leaks, smoke or fire, move away and call 911 rather than trying to deal with it yourself.

What should be in a breakdown kit?

Keep a small kit in each vehicle. Typical items include a charged phone and cable, a flashlight, work gloves, basic hand tools you know how to use, water and weather-suitable clothing. Warning triangles or lights can also help where state rules allow them.

Ask your local fire department or extension office what else suits your area and season, such as winter supplies. Check and restock the kit at the start of each season.

• Charged phone or radio and a way to recharge
• Flashlight with spare batteries
• Water and weather-suitable clothing
• Warning devices permitted in your state
• Contact card with phone numbers and farm address

How do you keep the plan alive?

Review it with family and workers before each busy season and after any breakdown. Ask what slowed you down or put anyone at risk, and change the plan.

Include new workers and teenagers who may drive. A plan that lives only in one person's head will not help when that person is not there.

After each breakdown, spend ten minutes talking about it. Fixing the cause is better than being surprised again next season.

Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. Written by the Farm Safety Editorial Team. See our editorial policy.