If you are on a listed Memphis highway between 6:00 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., start with 511 and ask for Motorist Assistance. That is TDOT HELP, the Highway Emergency Local Patrol. It is free on those routes during those hours. Assistance is not guaranteed. If you need a jump, a ride home, or a tow to a shop, HELP is not that truck. Call a private operator.

Overnight HELP coverage, Superhub shift traffic, and the after-8:30 p.m. gap sit on overnight roadside help in Memphis. Insurance and club “free tow” terms sit on how to get a free tow in Memphis.

The routes and hours that actually count

Urban HELP in Memphis runs Monday through Sunday, 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The listed routes are exact:

  • I-40, including the Hernando de Soto Bridge
  • I-55, state line to state line
  • the full I-240 loop
  • SR-385 / Bill Morris Parkway

HELP does patrol both river crossings. They belong to two different interstates. The Hernando de Soto carries I-40. The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge carries I-55. I-55’s own coverage is the state-line-to-state-line entry. Do not write I-40 as both bridges.

If you are on Union, Poplar, Lamar inside the city grid, a Midtown curb, or an apartment lot, you are not on a HELP route. 511 will not send a patrol into a Cooper-Young stall.

I-269 through Collierville overlaps the old SR-385 corridor in places. We could not confirm every I-269 mile against the live HELP map from the current claims file. If you are on I-269, ask 511 whether HELP covers that mile. Do not assume a Collierville square stall is freeway patrol.

The Arkansas side of either bridge is outside Tennessee HELP. West Memphis and Marion follow Arkansas desks. South of the Mississippi state line is Mississippi. HELP’s I-55 coverage stops at the Tennessee state line.

What HELP will do, and the jump-start gap

The published service list is exact. Reproduce it, add nothing to it:

  • flat changes
  • fuel delivery
  • minor mechanical help
  • clearing blocking vehicles

Jump starts are not on that list. Do not sit on I-240 waiting for a HELP truck to pack a jump pack we cannot show it carries. If the battery is dead and you are on a listed route during hours, you can still try 511 for lane clearance. Plan on a private jump start if the car needs a boost.

HELP does not tow a vehicle to a shop, home, or storage lot. Lane clearance is the job. Once the car is off the highway, or you want it at a Getwell shop or a Cordova driveway, that move is a private tow.

TDOT SmartWay cameras and 511 can show a backup you cannot see from the seat. Use them from inside the car. Do not walk the shoulder to find a camera.

When the private operator is the first call

Call a private operator first when any of these is true:

  • you are off the listed highways
  • it is before 6:00 a.m. or after 8:30 p.m.
  • you need a jump start
  • you need the car taken to a shop, home, or lot
  • HELP told you it cannot respond
  • you are in Arkansas or Mississippi

Stay belted if you are in a travel lane. Hazards on. Give the interstate, direction, and last exit, or the full street address. Year, make, model, and drivetrain belong on the call.

Our emergency towing and roadside assistance pages are the private path. Quick Tow Memphis matches you with a local operator. The operator does the work and contracts with you.

A mid-span stall on either river crossing is a bridge job. Use broke down on the Memphis bridges. An I-55 mainline stall that is not on the span is broke down on I-55 in Memphis.

Confirm the private total before anyone hooks up

HELP is free on its own terms. A private tow is not. Our standard light-duty hookup starts at $95. Distance, vehicle size, time of day, truck type, and hookup difficulty can change the total. Ask for the full amount with mileage included, in writing, before you agree. Ask what would change it.

Quick Tow Memphis does not run HELP trucks and does not bill HELP work. We match private calls. Call (901) 557-8700. The line takes calls 24/7.