The engine coughs somewhere between the Kennedy Avenue and Cline Avenue exits. The dash lights up. You have a few seconds and a lot of traffic around you. What you do in the next five minutes matters more than anything that comes after, so start there.
The first five minutes
Get out of the flow of traffic if the car will roll. The right shoulder is best; an exit ramp is better if you’re close to one. Hazard lights go on the moment you know something is wrong, not after you’ve stopped.
Then decide whether to stay in the car. If you’re safely on the shoulder, staying buckled in is usually the safer choice on a road as busy as the Borman. If the car is smoking, leaking fuel or stuck in a lane, get out on the side away from traffic and move well back from the road. Call 911 if anyone is in danger or the car is blocking a lane.
Who to call on the Borman and I-65
INDOT runs a free safety patrol called the Hoosier Helpers on the interstates around Gary. According to INDOT, the Northwest Indiana routes are:
- I-80/94 from mile 0 to mile 15.8, which is the Borman Expressway from the Illinois line through Hammond and Gary;
- I-65 from mile 247.5 to mile 261;
- I-94 from mile 15.8 to mile 19.
The crews change flat tires, fix minor mechanical problems, give out small amounts of fuel, clear debris after crashes and call in help for anything they can’t solve. The number is 855-INDOT4U (463-6848). It’s worth saving in your phone before you need it.
If the problem is bigger than a flat or an empty tank, you’ll need a tow off the highway. Your insurance or roadside plan may cover that; check your card.
How long can a broken-down car stay on the highway in Indiana?
Indiana’s definition of an “abandoned vehicle” in Indiana Code 9-13-2-1 includes a vehicle “left on public property without being moved for twenty-four (24) hours,” and a vehicle located on public property in a way that’s “a hazard or obstruction” to traffic. The second part applies immediately. In practice: a car stuck on the Borman needs to be gone within the day, and a car blocking a lane needs to go now.
Don’t plan to leave it overnight and come back with a friend and a tow strap.
Getting the car off the road
Most people have two choices once the car is on a hook:
- Tow it home. Good if you have a driveway or a spot where it can sit for a few days while you decide.
- Tow it to a shop you trust. Good if you want a diagnosis before deciding anything.
We don’t collect cars from the highway shoulder. Once the car is at an address you control, we can buy it from there.
Fix it or let it go?
Get a diagnosis first. Then compare the repair estimate with what the car is honestly worth today. Some signs the car has reached the end:
- The repair costs more than the car would sell for after it’s fixed.
- It’s the second or third big repair in a year.
- The breakdown came with damage: a collision that left the frame bent, or a leak that’s been losing oil for months.
- You don’t trust it on the Borman any more, and you drive the Borman every day.
If most of those are true, the numbers usually favor selling.
Selling it from where it ends up
Once the car is off the highway and you’ve decided, you can sell the junk car in Northwest Indiana from wherever it sits. The process is short:
- Send the car’s year, make, model and title situation through the form.
- Give the pickup address: your home, the shop, a friend’s driveway.
- We call with an offer.
- The tow is free, and you’re paid at pickup. Same-day pickup is often possible.
Repair shops are fine for pickup; tell us which one, and let them know it’s being collected. Take your plate off before the car leaves; in Indiana it stays with you. Our guide to plates after selling a car in Indiana explains what to do with it.
If your car died near an exit, our page on pickup near the Borman Expressway lists the exits we work around, from Calumet Avenue to Lake Station.