Emergency tools for drivers and roadside breakdowns
A breakdown is the most common roadside emergency and the one people are least prepared for. Two things decide how it goes: whether other traffic can see you, and whether you can tell a recovery service exactly where you are.
“About twenty minutes past the last junction” is not a location. A coordinate is, and reading one out is faster than describing a stretch of road you have never driven before.
What actually comes up
Being seen on an unlit road
Police lights mode flashes the screen red and blue, turning the phone into a visible marker. Use it alongside a warning triangle and hazard lights — never instead of them.
Tools involved
Telling recovery exactly where you are
Coordinates in three formats, ready to read out or copy into a message. Faster and less ambiguous than describing landmarks on a road you do not know.
Tools involved
Something worse than a breakdown
Lock-screen SOS starts the countdown without unlocking. The alert carries your coordinates and medical details to your contacts.
Tools involved
Hazards on, engine off, battery draining
With the engine off, the phone is your only light and your only phone. The battery monitor shows what you have left and what each tool is costing.
Tools involved
Before you go
The preparation that has to happen in advance, because none of it can be done in the moment you need it.
- Get out of the vehicle and behind a barrier where one exists — do this before anything on a phone
- Hazard lights and a warning triangle come first; the phone is secondary
- Keep a charging cable in the car so the phone is not already flat
- Know your breakdown provider’s number, or store it as a contact
- Read out coordinates in DMS — the numbers are shorter and harder to mishear
Answers
Drivers: common questions
Is police lights mode legal to use?
It is a screen flashing red and blue, intended to make you more visible. Do not use it in a way that implies you are an emergency vehicle, and do not use it while driving — impersonating emergency services is an offence in most countries. It is for a stationary vehicle at the roadside, alongside your hazard lights and warning triangle.
How do I give my location to a recovery service?
Open the location screen and read out the coordinates, or copy and text them. Degrees/minutes/seconds is easiest to read aloud accurately. On motorways, marker posts give a more useful reference to control rooms — use those if you can see one.
Can I trigger SOS without unlocking my phone?
Yes, with lock-screen SOS enabled in settings. It shows a persistent notification whose button starts the three-second countdown without unlocking.
Related features
- FlashlightInstant torch with an adjustable strobe, an automatic SOS Morse pattern and a red/blue screen flash.
- GPS locationCoordinates in decimal, DMS or UTM, ready to copy, share or read aloud — plus a live speed readout.
- SOS alertsA deliberate three-second countdown, then an SMS with your coordinates, a siren, and a location log.
- Battery monitorCharge level, current draw, temperature, health and time-to-empty — because every other tool depends on it.
Related guides
- How to prepare for a roadside emergencyThe first minute of a breakdown matters more than everything you keep in the boot. Most people get the order wrong.
- How GPS can help during an emergencyGPS is the most misunderstood tool on a phone. It works without a data connection, and knowing how to use it changes a search into a collection.
Get the Emergency Toolkit
Free on Google Play. No account, no subscription, and the core tools keep working when the signal does not.
- 4.8 MB download
- Android 8.0+
- No account required