Contact Roadside Assistance in Seattle, WA

Call (206) 483-2704. The line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the operator quotes the job on the phone. A call beats a form because you can describe the spot and hear the answer at once.

Talking to a person gets you a quote and a plan in one conversation. Say where the car is, what it is and what happened. On a freeway or a bridge, give the road, your direction and the nearest exit or cross street. In a parking garage, give the name and the level. If the car is in a travel lane or anyone is hurt, call 911 first and this line second. Keep your seat belt on while you talk. If the signal is weak, move to a spot with better coverage only when you can do it safely, and otherwise stay put and try again. The operator asks for a callback number in case the call drops, so have it ready.

Say where you are, what the vehicle is and what it is doing. Add the make, model and year, which tire is flat if it is a tire, and whether the engine cranks. Those details decide the truck and the quote.

A good call is short and specific. Start with the location, because everything else depends on it. Then describe the car: a gray Subaru with a flat rear tire says more than a car that will not go. Say whether the key works and whether you smell fuel or smoke. For a tire, mention whether you have a spare and the key for the locking lug nuts. For a dead battery, say whether the car clicks or stays silent. For a tow, give the shop or the address you want. The operator asks follow-up questions, so you do not need to cover everything yourself.

Yes. Text a photo or a map pin to (206) 483-2704, then call when you can. A picture of the flat tire, the dashboard or the spot helps the operator pick the right truck.

Photos help most with tires, wheels and stuck cars. A picture of the tire shows a nail, a split sidewall or a bent wheel, and a picture of the ground under a stuck car shows how soft it is. A map pin from your phone gives the exact spot when you cannot read a street sign, which happens often in rain or after dark. Send the photo, then call, because a text may not be read at once and cannot give you a quote. If you cannot speak, say so in the text and give a callback number. Do not take photos while standing near live traffic. Stay in the car and snap what you can see from inside, or skip the photo and just call.

Yes. A parent, a friend or a coworker can call for the driver, as long as the caller can say exactly where the car sits. Give the driver's callback number too, since the operator may need to reach them.

Many calls come from someone who is not at the car. The caller should relay the road or the street, the direction of travel, the nearest exit or cross street and what the car is doing. If the driver is on a freeway shoulder or a bridge and anyone is hurt or the car is in a lane, 911 comes first, and the caller can make that call too. The driver should stay in the car with the seat belt on until help is in place. Ask the driver to share a map pin by text, which is more reliable than a description over a second phone. The operator quotes the job to whoever is on the line, and nothing is sent until the caller and the driver agree.