The possibility of your car breaking down on the motorway is not something pleasant to imagine. Specialist insurance policies, such as gap insurance or car warranties, exist to protect us from the costs of different motoring situations. It is wise to arm yourself with practical knowledge too, to ensure your own safety and that of those travelling with you. Motorway travel necessitates the adherence to certain safety guidelines. Never use the hard shoulder unless it is an emergency; being the most important thing to remember. You should only use the hard shoulder if all other options are closed to you. If you sense you are having car problems try to get to an exit and leave the motorway.

if you are unlucky enough to have a motorway breakdown, bring the car to a halt as far to the left of the hard shoulder as you are able. Make sure that you turn your front wheels so as to be pointing to the grass verge, away from the road. Once stopped, turn on your hazards straight away. Other warning devices, such as a red triangle, which may be useful in other situations, should not be used here. The traffic on the motorway is moving fast and putting these types of things out can be dangerous.

Having stopped, concern yourself first and foremost with evacuating any passengers from the vehicle. Everyone should exit from the left side of the vehicle and move as far away from the motorway as possible. When everyone is safely removed from the vehicle and well out of the way of the traffic, you can think about calling your rescue service.

It is quite common for some kind of roadside assistance to be offered when you renew your car insurance. You should not use you mobile though, as a roadside emergency telephone will enable the rescue vehicle to pinpoint your exact location more quickly. Look for the blue and white marker posts to locate one of these. These will tell you which phone is nearest to you. Being connected directly to a police control centre, these phones will be your lifeline.

This way help can get to you and your vehicle quickly. Should walking be necessary, ensure that you are well away from the side of the motorway where traffic is passing. Staying alert and aware of the dangerous situation is absolutely vital. Don't forget that your pets - if you are travelling with them - will be safer if secured inside the car, unless in a crate.

You shouldn't sit in your vehicle whilst waiting for help to arrive. Staying in your vehicle puts you at risk of injury should another car collide with you. It is also dangerous to perform your own repairs by the motorway edge. This is especially true if you need to repair something on the driver's side of the car. It is not sensible to put yourself at risk of injury or death by trying to carry out a complicated repair; and even by trying to fix a problem yourself you may end up invalidating your car warranty policy. Motorway traffic is unpredictable and you should always seek professional help.

Once help has arrived you should stay on the verge whilst the problem is being taken care of. It is never a good idea to stand between the emergency vehicle and your own car. If someone happens to run into the rear of your car you will be crushed between the two vehicles.

You could be lucky enough to never experience a motorway breakdown. For those of us that do, though, being fully prepared beforehand will put us and our passengers in an ultimately safer position. No matter how many different types of insurance are available to today's motorists, ultimately each of us needs to do much more than this to ensure protection on the roads. To ensure the safety of motorists just like us whilst we are driving, we need to do more to educate ourselves on the various dangers of driving - not only think about protecting our pockets with things like roadside, car warranties and gap insurance.