Broken Down on M-53 or Hall Road in Shelby Township, MI

Published 4 November 2026

A car that quits on the M-53 Van Dyke Freeway at dusk, or gets tapped at a light on Hall Road, leaves you a handful of decisions and little time. Most of them come in the first ten minutes: can the car clear the lane, where do you wait, is this a 911 call, and what do you tell the tow?

Here they are in order, each with the Michigan Vehicle Code section behind it, the agencies that patrol Shelby Township and its neighbors, and the November hazard nobody plans for: a deer in the headlights.

After a crash, the first move is yours. MCL 257.618a says the driver, or any other occupant with a valid license, has to get the car off the main traveled portion of the road and into a safe refuge (the shoulder, an emergency lane, the median, or somewhere off the roadway), provided the move is safe and the car still runs under its own power without further damage or hazard. If it can't, leave it and go to the next step.

A breakdown with no crash falls under MCL 257.672: on a limited access highway, stopping on any part of the road, paved or unpaved, is allowed only in an emergency or for mechanical difficulty, which is exactly what a dying engine on the M-53 freeway is. Outside cities and villages, which takes in the township's mile roads, it also says to get off the pavement whenever you can.

If a wrecked car blocks the road and can't move, section 618a lets police clear it, its cargo and any personal property without the owner's consent; the owner then repays the documented, reasonable cost.

Hazard lights first. For a car stranded in winter, the State Police say to stay with it and keep your belt fastened in case another vehicle hits you while you're stopped. Their deer-crash guidance adds the exception: if the car can't be driven and still sits in traffic, get out carefully and stand off the road, away from oncoming cars. If you can't get out without stepping into traffic, stay belted and call 911.

The State Police deer-crash page counts more than 58,000 deer-vehicle crashes in Michigan in 2024, most of them from 8 to 9 a.m. or from 6 to 9 p.m., commuting hours. At the moment of impact, don't swerve. Afterward: flashers on, belt on, onto the shoulder if the car will move, and keep away from the deer, since a hurt, frightened animal can injure you.

A running engine proves little. The same page says not to assume the car is safe to drive: look it over for damage, and be ready to call a tow truck.

Dial 911 when someone is hurt, a car sits in a live lane or anything is burning. Even without an emergency, you may owe a report: MCL 257.622 says to notify the nearest or most convenient police station or officer at once when anyone is injured or the apparent property damage reaches the dollar amount the section names.

MCL 257.619 covers the exchange: your name and address, the registration number, the owner's name and address, a look at your license, and reasonable help for anyone injured. Ask the officer for the report number; the State Police say your insurer may need it for a claim.

Who comes depends on where the car stopped:

• Shelby Township - the township police: 911 for emergencies, (586) 731-2121 for the business line.
• Utica or Sterling Heights - city police; non-emergency dispatch is (586) 731-2345 in Utica and 586-446-2800 in Sterling Heights.
• Macomb or Washington Township - Macomb County Sheriff's deputies, who patrol both under contract around the clock; the Sheriff's main line is 586-469-5151.
• Either county - troopers from the State Police Metro North Post, Post 21 in Oak Park, 248-584-5740, covering Macomb and Oakland.

"M-53 near Utica" could mean either side of a divided freeway, so give your direction and the last exit you passed. The freeway starts near 18 Mile in Sterling Heights; exit 17 is Hall Road, split northbound into 17A east and 17B west; exit 20 is 23 Mile; exit 23, 26 Mile, sits where Shelby meets Washington Township; and at exit 25, Van Dyke Avenue toward Romeo, the freeway ends.

Hall Road changes at Van Dyke. West of it, M-59 is a freeway with exits at Mound (50) and, on the county line, Dequindre (48), so the last exit works there too. East of it, Hall Road is a divided boulevard: say which side of the median you're on and the closest crossing, such as Schoenherr, Garfield or Romeo Plank. Anywhere else on the grid, name the mile road and the street it crosses.

Then come the questions a tow dispatcher will ask. Our page on how an emergency tow call runs, from the first question to the drop-off walks through them; have these answers ready:

• Where it sits - shoulder, median, a parking lot, or still in a lane.
• Police on scene - and whether an officer ordered the car removed. That tow is the officer's call, and a crash car that can't be driven safely leaves the yard only after police release it (MCL 257.252d).
• The car - make, model and year, plus what drives it: two wheels, all four, or an electric motor.
• The destination - home, a shop or a dealer, and who there can take the key.

With the tow truck stopped and its amber lights flashing, MCL 257.653a covers the scene. Passing drivers must slow to 10 mph or more below the limit and, with two or more lanes their way, leave at least a lane or two vehicle widths, unless weather, road conditions or traffic rule it out. MCL 257.2 extends that to any clearly marked road service vehicle showing a flashing red or amber light, and the State Police name tow trucks among them.

Two limits matter. Traffic on the far side of a divided highway, such as the opposite lanes of M-53, doesn't have to slow under the statute, and a violation is usually a civil infraction with two points, so stand well back rather than trust every passing car.

Loading needs room on both sides of the truck. Wait where the driver points you, off the pavement, with children and pets beside you, and keep the key or fob in hand. If you haven't called anyone yet, Shelby Township Towing answers around the clock; have those answers ready for the call.