Hit on the Shoulder: Liability in Roadside and Towing Crashes

Who can be held responsible when a stopped car, tow truck, or roadside stop gets hit in bad weather.

Pulling onto the shoulder is supposed to be the safe move. Your tire blows, your engine overheats, or a tow truck arrives to help, and you get as far right as you can. In rain, snow, or fog, that shoulder stop can turn into the most dangerous part of your day, because drivers behind you may not see you until it's too late.

Shoulder and roadside crashes raise a different set of liability questions than a typical rear-end or intersection wreck. More than one party is often involved: the driver who struck you, the tow company that positioned the truck, and sometimes the person who left a vehicle poorly marked in the roadway. Sorting out who pays starts with understanding how these crashes actually happen.

Why bad weather makes shoulder stops so dangerous

Rain, snow, and fog cut visibility and increase stopping distance at the same time. A driver who would normally see a disabled car or tow truck from a safe distance may not spot it until headlights or hazard lights are the only clue something is there. Spray from passing trucks, glare on wet pavement, and fogged-up windows make the problem worse.

Shoulders are also narrower and closer to live traffic than most people realize. On many highways, there's only a few feet between the white line and the edge of the paved shoulder. A vehicle drifting even slightly, whether from hydroplaning, distraction, or simply misjudging the lane, can clip a stopped car, a tow truck, or a person standing outside their vehicle.

Weather doesn't cause these crashes by itself. A driver still has to choose a speed and following distance appropriate for the conditions, and still has to move over or slow down for stopped vehicles. When they don't, that choice is what creates liability, not the rain or snow.

Who can be held responsible when you're struck on the shoulder

The driver who hit you is usually the starting point. Most states require drivers to slow down or move over for stopped vehicles with flashing lights, including tow trucks, police cars, and disabled vehicles. A driver who fails to do that in poor visibility or wet conditions may be found negligent, meaning they failed to use the level of care a reasonable driver would have used.

Other parties can share responsibility depending on the facts. If a tow truck was positioned without proper warning lights, cones, or reflective markers, the towing company could bear some fault. If a construction crew or utility company left equipment or debris on the shoulder without adequate warning signs, they could be a responsible party too.

In some cases, a government entity responsible for maintaining the shoulder, guardrail, or warning signage may also be involved, though claims against government agencies often follow different rules and shorter notice requirements than claims against private drivers. An attorney can help sort out which parties are actually in play based on your specific crash.

Towing crashes carry their own set of risks

Tow truck crashes often involve more than the two vehicles directly involved. If your car was being hooked up or loaded when another vehicle struck the tow truck, you may have been standing nearby, inside your car, or inside the tow truck cab. Each position changes what injuries are likely and what evidence matters.

Towing companies have their own safety obligations. That includes using proper lighting, parking the truck and the vehicle being towed as far from traffic as conditions allow, and training drivers to set up safely in rain or low visibility. If a tow operator rushed the setup or parked in a way that increased risk, that decision can factor into the claim.

Equipment failure is another angle worth checking. A chain, strap, or hitch that fails during towing can cause a secondary collision or send a vehicle into traffic. If faulty or poorly maintained equipment played a role, that points toward the towing company or whoever serviced the equipment, separate from whatever driver eventually struck the vehicle.

What to do if you're stopped and get hit

If you can safely move to a less exposed area, do it, and turn on hazard lights immediately. If you have flares, reflective triangles, or a flashlight, use them, since every extra second of visibility matters in bad weather. Call for help rather than standing near the traffic lane longer than necessary.

After a crash, document what you can. Photos of your vehicle's position on the shoulder, the weather conditions, any warning devices that were or weren't in place, and the final resting spots of both vehicles can all matter later. If a tow truck was involved, try to note the company name and truck number, since that information can be hard to track down after the fact.

Get checked out even if you feel shaken more than hurt. Being struck while stationary, or being thrown while standing outside a vehicle, can cause injuries that don't show symptoms right away. A medical record created close to the crash date also becomes important evidence if a claim follows.

The evidence that tends to matter most

Weather data from the time of the crash, dash cam footage from either vehicle, and any nearby traffic or security cameras can help establish visibility conditions and what the striking driver should have been able to see. Tow companies and some fleets keep GPS and dispatch logs showing when and where a truck arrived, which can help pin down exactly how the scene was set up.

Police crash reports in these situations often include notes about shoulder width, lighting, and whether warning devices were visible, since officers are trained to look for move-over violations. Getting a copy of that report, along with any citation issued, gives you a documented starting point before details fade from memory.

This article is general information for the public, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Nothing here predicts an outcome or the value of any claim. Laws and filing deadlines differ by state and change over time — talk with a lawyer about your own situation. Attorney advertising.