Broken Down on I-75 in Gainesville: what to do

Steer onto the right shoulder as far as you can, turn on the hazards and decide whether staying in the car or getting behind a guardrail is safer. If you are stopped in a travel lane or anyone is hurt, call 911.

As soon as something feels wrong, signal and drift right while the car is still rolling. The left shoulder is narrower and puts you next to the fastest traffic, so use it only if you cannot reach the right. Once stopped, set the parking brake and turn the wheels away from traffic. If there is a guardrail and you can get behind it without walking into a lane, that is usually the safest place to wait. Otherwise stay buckled in.

For a crash, injuries or a car in a travel lane, call 911. To reach the Florida Highway Patrol from a cell phone, dial *FHP (*347). For the car itself, call the roadside line at (352) 225-7849.

FDOT also runs Road Rangers, a highway service patrol that began working I-75 through Gainesville in April 2018 and was covering the stretch from Micanopy to Alachua at the time, according to local reporting. Road Rangers patrol set hours, so they may or may not be nearby, and they handle quick help like moving a car to safety. For a tire change, a jump, fuel or a tow to your own shop, the roadside line is the direct route.

Give the direction, northbound or southbound, and the last exit number you passed. The green mile markers on the right shoulder pin it down further. Florida exit numbers match the mile markers.

Through Gainesville the exits are 382 at Williston Road, 384 at Archer Road, 387 at Newberry Road and 390 at NW 39th Avenue. If you passed Newberry Road heading south and have not reached Archer Road, you are between 387 and 384, and the nearest mile marker narrows that to a tenth of a mile. Phone map apps can also share a pin; open the map, press and hold your location and read out the coordinates or the nearest exit it shows.

Fog and smoke can settle low over the prairie and drop visibility to near zero with little warning. In January 2012, a series of crashes in smoke and fog there killed 11 people. Slow down and keep your lights on low beam.

Paynes Prairie is a wide, low basin of wet prairie and marsh south of town, and both I-75 and US-441 cross it. Cool mornings bring fog off the water, and wildfire or controlled burn smoke can mix with it. After the 2012 crashes, the state reviewed how the road was managed in low visibility, and FDOT added cameras, sensors and message signs to warn drivers. If visibility collapses, slow down gradually, do not stop in a travel lane and leave the road at the next exit if you can.

Drivers must change lanes away from a stopped emergency, service or disabled vehicle, or slow to 20 mph below the posted limit when they cannot change lanes. The law now covers any car stopped with its hazards on.

The state's highway safety department describes the Move Over law as covering emergency vehicles, tow trucks, utility and sanitation vehicles, road crews and disabled vehicles stopped with hazard lights, flares or emergency signs. So turn the hazards on as soon as you stop: that is what brings passing traffic under the law. The shoulder is still dangerous. Plenty of drivers miss it, so do not rely on it to protect you while you stand next to the car.

Often it is not. US-441 across the prairie has long stretches with narrow shoulders and water on both sides, so drive slowly on the flat to a wide pull-off or the far side if you can.

The road across the prairie carries fast traffic between Gainesville and Micanopy, and there are few places to get far off the pavement. The observation area and the parking for the state park trails along the road are better spots than a narrow shoulder. A rim damaged by driving a short distance slowly costs far less than standing beside traffic with a jack. If the car cannot move, stay inside with the hazards on and call for help with the exact direction and the nearest landmark.

Use FL511, Florida's official traveler information service, online or through its app, for crashes, closures and construction. Check it before leaving on a game day, during evacuations and on foggy mornings.

FL511 shows incidents, lane closures, traffic cameras and travel times across the state's highways, including I-75 through Alachua County. On home football Saturdays the exits nearest campus back up for hours before and after the game, and during hurricane evacuations I-75 north carries heavy traffic and fuel can run short at stations along the way. Leaving with a full tank, water and a charged phone takes care of most of what goes wrong on those days.