Step 1: Get safely off the road
The moment you suspect you are running out of gas — engine sputtering, loss of power, low fuel warning — your priority is getting the vehicle to a safe location. See the specific guide to running out of gas on a highway. before it stops completely.\n\nIf you are on a highway, signal immediately and move to the right shoulder. Use whatever momentum remains to get as far from the travel lanes as possible — ideally past the white fog line and well onto the shoulder. A vehicle that coasts to a stop close to a live lane of highway traffic is in a dangerous position.\n\nIf you are on a surface street, steer to the nearest parking lot, side street, or wide shoulder. Getting completely off the main road is the goal — a vehicle blocking a lane of traffic creates a hazard and delays your resolution while other drivers navigate around you.
Step 2: Make yourself visible
Once stopped, turn on your hazard lights immediately. Do this before anything else — while you are still processing what happened.\n\nIf you have emergency triangles or flares, deploy them behind the vehicle to alert approaching traffic. On a highway, place them at 100, 200, and 300 feet behind the vehicle. On a surface street, a single triangle 50-100 feet behind is sufficient for most situations.\n\nDo not stand behind the vehicle or at the driver door while traffic is passing. If your vehicle is on a highway shoulder, the safest position is away from the vehicle — on the far side of a barrier if one is present, or at a significant distance from the vehicle if not.
Step 3: Call for help
With the vehicle in a safe position and hazard lights on, call for fuel delivery.\n\nCall your roadside membership first. If you have AAA, insurance-based roadside, or a manufacturer program, fuel delivery is a covered service. See what fuel delivery coverage is included in roadside programs. The call takes 2-3 minutes and a technician is dispatched immediately.\n\nIf you do not have a membership, search for roadside assistance or fuel delivery near me. Provide your exact location — a highway mile marker, a cross street, or the name of a nearby visible landmark — and confirm your fuel type before the technician is dispatched.\n\nIf you are in a location with cell service problems, call 911. State patrol officers regularly assist stranded motorists and can often arrange fuel delivery or a tow through their dispatch system.
Step 4: Wait safely and prepare for the technician
While waiting for fuel delivery, a few steps make the resolution faster when the technician arrives.\n\nStay with your vehicle on highways. Leaving the vehicle and walking along a highway shoulder to find a station is extremely dangerous — pedestrians on highways are struck by vehicles with alarming frequency. The 20-40 minute wait for fuel delivery is far safer than a quarter mile walk along a high-speed road.\n\nKnow your fuel type before the technician arrives. See the specific guide for diesel fuel delivery situations. Most vehicles take regular unleaded gasoline — but if you drive a diesel, a flex-fuel vehicle, or a premium-required engine, confirm the correct fuel type when you call and again when the technician arrives. Wrong fuel in the tank causes expensive engine damage.\n\nLocate your fuel door release if it is not obvious. Some vehicles have a floor-mounted release lever; others have a push-open door. A technician who cannot access your fuel door quickly adds unnecessary time to the resolution.