Broken Down on the A77?
Broken down on the A77? We'll connect you with an available local recovery operator, wherever you are on it.
Conditions right now
That doesn't mean the roads are empty, and it doesn't mean your car won't break down. If it does, we're here.
Weather warnings: Met Office, © Crown copyright. Gritting: Ayrshire Roads Alliance.
If you've stopped on the A77
- Get off the carriageway if you possibly can. Take the first safe option, don't try to reach the next town.
- Hazard lights on, immediately.
- Get out on the left. Everyone leaves through the left-hand doors, away from the traffic. Leave animals in the car.
- Get behind a barrier and well back from the road. Not standing beside the vehicle.
- Then call. Once you're safe, and not before.
The A77 runs from Glasgow down through Ayrshire to Stranraer and the Irish ferry ports. It changes character completely along the way, and so do the problems. Find the stretch you're on below.
The A77, stretch by stretch
This road is not the same all the way along. Find where you are.
Fenwick to Kilmarnock
Dual carriageway, feeds off the M77
The A77 picks up where the M77 ends at Fenwick and runs down to Kilmarnock as dual carriageway. It's quick, and traffic behaves like it's still on the motorway.
The Bellfield interchange at the Kilmarnock end is where the A77, A71 and M77 meet. It's a complicated set of junctions, it's busy, and there is nowhere good to stop.
If you stop here: If you stop near Bellfield, get as far left as the verge allows and get everyone out and behind the barrier. Do not stand beside the car.
Kilmarnock to Ayr
Dual and grade-separated, fast
Fast, mostly dual, and carrying commuter traffic between the two biggest towns in the county. Breakdowns here are usually straightforward to reach, and there is generally a verge to get onto.
If you stop here: Get onto the verge, get out on the left, and stand well back before you phone anyone.
Ayr: Whitletts and Sandyford
The busiest junctions on the road
Whitletts Roundabout, where the A77 meets the A70 and the A719, carries over 35,000 vehicles a day. The dual carriageway approaches on either side are no place to be standing about. The road has been closed in both directions between Whitletts and Sandyford Toll after collisions.
If you can nurse the car off the roundabout and into a side road or a retail park, do it. Stopping on the roundabout itself, or on its approaches, is genuinely dangerous.
If you stop here: Try to get clear of the junction entirely before you stop. If you can't, hazards on, everyone out on the left, and get onto the verge.
Ayr to Girvan
Single carriageway, heavy freight
South of Maybole the A77 becomes a rural trunk road. Single carriageway for long stretches, undulating, with long overtaking straights and blind crests.
It carries a constant stream of HGVs running to and from the Cairnryan ferries. That freight traffic is the reason breaking down here is genuinely dangerous: lorries come over crests at speed, and a stationary car is very hard to see until late.
If you stop here: Get as far off the carriageway as you physically can, even onto a soft verge. Everyone out and well back. Lorries will not see you until they are close.
Girvan to Ballantrae and south
Coastal, narrow, remote
South of Girvan the road runs along the coast: narrow lanes, cliff edges, and long climbs. Dangerous overtaking is documented here, including lorries passing each other on blind corners.
It's also remote. There are stretches with nothing at all for miles, and mobile signal is not guaranteed. A breakdown here is a genuine problem rather than an inconvenience.
If you stop here: Stay with the car if it's safe. Make sure someone knows where you are. Be realistic that any recovery vehicle will take time to reach you.
Known hazards on the A77
- The Bellfield interchange at Kilmarnock, where the A77, A71 and M77 all tie together. Complex, busy, and nowhere safe to stop.
- Whitletts Roundabout at Ayr, where the A77 meets the A70 and A719. Over 35,000 vehicles a day pass through it.
- Sandyford Toll and the Ayr bypass sections. The road has been closed between Whitletts and Sandyford after collisions.
- South of Maybole the road drops to single carriageway with long overtaking straights and blind crests.
- Constant HGV traffic running to and from the Cairnryan ferry ports. Lorries come over crests faster than a stationary car is visible.
- The coastal sections between Turnberry, Girvan and Ballantrae: narrow lanes, cliff edges, and documented dangerous overtaking.
How dangerous is the A77?
The A77 is one of the most dangerous roads in Scotland. Together with the A75, it produces a casualty roughly every three days, and there were 564 casualties across the two roads in a five-year period. Campaigners have pressed for dualling for years. Lorries have been recorded overtaking each other on blind corners on the narrow cliff-edge sections near Ballantrae.
None of that changes what you should do if you break down on it. It does change how quickly you should get out of the vehicle and how far back from the carriageway you should stand.
The A77 in winter
The inland sections around Fenwick and the moor take weather earlier than the coast. The southern coastal stretch gets spray and standing water in a westerly.
Check before you travel
Need recovery?
Call us and we'll help arrange it, or send the vehicle details and we'll come back to you.