Broken Down on the M77?
Broken down on the M77? Get yourself safe first, then call and we'll get an operator to the vehicle.
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.
Stuck in a live lane?
Do not get out of the vehicle. Keep your seatbelt on, hazards on, and call 999. The police can close the lane. That is their job, not yours and not ours.
Once you are safe, call us and we'll get an operator to the vehicle.
If you've stopped on the M77
- 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 M77 runs from the M8 in Glasgow down to Fenwick, where it becomes the A77. It is the fast route between Glasgow and Kilmarnock, and a breakdown on it is not like a breakdown anywhere else.
The M77, stretch by stretch
This road is not the same all the way along. Find where you are.
If you can reach the hard shoulder
This is what it is for
Pull as far left as you can. Wheels turned to the left, so that if the car is struck it is pushed away from the carriageway rather than into it. Hazard lights on.
Everyone out through the left-hand doors. Up the bank, over the barrier, and well back. Not standing beside the car, and not sitting in it.
Leave any animals in the vehicle. A frightened dog loose on a motorway is a catastrophe for everyone.
If you stop here: Behind the barrier, away from the traffic, then call.
If you are stuck in a live lane
This is a 999 call, not a recovery call
If you cannot get off the carriageway and you are stopped in a running lane, do not get out into moving traffic.
Keep your seatbelt on. Hazard lights on. Call 999.
The police can close the lane. That is their job, not ours, and not yours. Once the lane is closed and you are safe, then we can get a recovery operator to the vehicle.
If you stop here: Seatbelt on, hazards on, call 999. Do not get out.
Junctions and where you actually are
The first thing an operator will ask
M77 junctions are numbered north to south: from the M8 at Plantation down to Junction 8 at Fenwick, with Maidenhill, Kingswell and Fenwick on the extended southern section.
Junctions 7 and 8 are limited access, southbound only. If you break down between them you may be a longer way from an exit than you think.
Marker posts along the verge carry a number and an arrow pointing to the nearest emergency phone. If you can read one safely from behind the barrier, it is the most precise thing you can tell us.
If you stop here: Tell us the junction you last passed and your direction of travel. A marker post number is better still.
Known hazards on the M77
- It is a motorway. Traffic is doing 70 and drivers are not expecting a stationary vehicle.
- Junctions 7 (Kingswell) and 8 (Fenwick) are limited-access, southbound only. If you miss your exit you are committed to the next one.
- The southern end feeds straight into the A77 dual carriageway at Fenwick with no change in speed.
- Junction numbering runs north to south, from the M8 at Plantation down to J8 at Fenwick. Know which junction you last passed.
How dangerous is the M77?
The M77 has a full hard shoulder for its whole length, 3.3 metres wide on the Fenwick extension. That is the safest place to stop on this road, and you should use it.
The 2005 extension to Fenwick replaced a notoriously dangerous section of the old A77 and made the Glasgow to Kilmarnock corridor considerably safer. It is a good road. It is still a motorway.
The M77 in winter
The Fenwick and Kingswell sections run over higher ground and get weather before the Glasgow end does.
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.