A tow goes smoothly when the operator knows the vehicle, where it is and where it must go. Describe it once in a request for accident towing in Johannesburg and we pass it to tow truck operators covering Johannesburg and nearby areas of Gauteng.
Accident Towing in Johannesburg
After an accident in Johannesburg, check for injuries, call emergency services if anyone is hurt, and then call your insurer before agreeing to a tow. Uninvited trucks can arrive quickly on busy roads in Gauteng, so photograph the truck and get the destination and daily storage rate written down.
New to this? Read the accident towing guide for the choices and the questions worth asking before you pay.
Johannesburg notes on towing
Inner city towing in Johannesburg means working around one-way streets in the CBD, Braamfontein and Newtown, so small rollbacks and wheel-lift trucks are common. Heavy wreckers clear trucks from the M2 and the N12 near Southgate. After a crash in Rosebank or Melville, be careful of accident chasers who arrive uninvited: check with your insurer first and never sign a blank tow slip. Ask for the storage rate before the car is moved.
Towing in Johannesburg
Johannesburg's towing work is shaped by heavy commuter traffic on the M1, the M2 and the freeway ring around the inner city, where a single stalled car can back up traffic for kilometres. Breakdowns happen daily on the M1 near the Booysens and Crown interchanges, on the M2 past the city centre, and in the narrow streets of Braamfontein, Newtown and the CBD, where small rollbacks are often easier to manoeuvre than big trucks. Minibus taxis, courier vans and older commuter cars from Soweto make up much of the work. Highveld summer storms bring sudden flooding at underpasses and hail, and accident chasers are a known problem, so motorists should be careful who they let hook up their car.
The requests we see from Johannesburg usually come from:
- Motorists and families: a damaged family car moved from a tow yard to the insurer's approved panel beater
- Company fleets and rental firms: company cars after minor collisions moved to the fleet's chosen repairer on account
- Dealers, panel beaters and workshops: panel beaters and assessors arranging collection of damaged cars from yards
Local tips for Johannesburg
Popular here: commuter car tows on the M1 and M2 and accident towing in the inner city. Ask each operator about this: ask your insurer before you let an uninvited tow truck move your car. Where they work from: industrial areas in Selby, Booysens, Village Main and along the Main Reef Road.
Requests range widely: one damaged vehicle per tow. Here, motorists and families lead the requests, typically for a damaged family car moved from a tow yard to the insurer's approved panel beater. One local point to raise: m1, M2, N1 western bypass, N12 and N17 to Soweto and the inner city streets.
Service area: Johannesburg and surrounds
Operators and suppliers on our network work in Johannesburg and surrounding areas, including Sandton, Randburg, Roodepoort, Soweto, Rosebank, Fourways, Melville. Give the street, the road and the nearest km marker, or the suburb, so the quote can include the distance and any toll.