Emergency call centers across the country are under more pressure than ever. Many are understaffed and citizen expectations are higher than ever. The challenges 9-1-1 dispatchers are facing extend beyond general job strain. As Brian Fontes, CEO of NENA observed, “What these professionals are experiencing isn’t just stress - it’s systematic fatigue.” With this level of stress, non-emergency roadside events are a time consuming distraction but failure to support can pose a safety risk. Here's the challenge:
Call centers typically handle non-emergency roadside assistance requests in one of three ways.
The challenge in all three cases is that support for the citizen is delayed. These delays can create additional safety hazards, far more severe than a flat tire which can cause a non-emergency to become a tragedy.
The road is a dangerous place which poses risk to stranded drivers and good samaritans who bravely stop to help. The stories are heartbreaking, and they happen far too often. Just this year, in a moment of pure compassion, a man in Kentucky stopped to help a stranger whose car had broken down. A simple act of kindness ended up as a disaster. As he tried to push the disabled vehicle, a third car came along and crashed into them, crushing him between the two cars and taking his life.
This wasn't an isolated event.
We’ve seen this devastating ripple effect play out on a national scale. In October 2023, a flat tire on the Pennsylvania Turnpike set off a chain reaction that killed three people. A driver pulled over to help the first stranded motorist, but before they could, a truck carrying jet fuel was unable to stop. It slammed into the vehicles, igniting a massive, fatal fire.
Another incident in April 2025 on the same turnpike saw two tractor-trailers crash and catch fire after one swerved to avoid a disabled vehicle.
As a result, public safety agencies across the country are rethinking their policies to non-emergency roadside requests in order to better support citizens in need. In partnership with RapidSOS, roadside assistance was recently added to RapidSOS UNITE. This simple button, enabled nationwide, and free to use, directly connects roadside requests with safe reliable roadside at a fair market rate.
At Drivers Premier, we are proud to enable this easy-to-use option which helps ensure the best local provider is assigned to the job. This alleviates any concern from agencies of recommending a specific provider or disrupting tow rotations. Houston County GA was quick to adopt this solution. Veronica Edens, Assistant Director, shared how this has changed the dialogue with their citizens, "Instead of saying ‘I can’t help you,’ it does the work for you.”
We recognize the challenges that emergency call centers are facing and the risk that non-emergency roadside events can pose if not handled properly. Learn more about how roadside assistance with RapidSOS UNITE works.
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