Breakdown on the Cologne Motorway Ring

What happens after you call?

Tell us the motorway, direction of travel, and the last exit or interchange. We'll tell you right away what happens next and organise a partner who'll drive to you on the ring or one of the feeder motorways. We'll also tell you the price up front, before anyone drives out.

What makes the ring different

The Cologne motorway ring, made up of the A3, A4 and A1, is about 52 kilometres long. It's one of the most heavily used and jam-prone motorway connections in Germany. The A3/A4 section between the Cologne-Ost interchange and the Heumar triangle was, according to a 2015 count, the busiest motorway section in the country.

Heavy traffic means: if you break down here, you're stopped in fast-moving traffic, often without much space. A breakdown becomes dangerous here faster than on a country road.

The main interchanges and feeder roads

If you tell us the motorway, direction of travel and the last interchange or exit, we'll know roughly where you are. Three sections have their own pages: Breakdown on the A3 near Cologne (Leverkusen to Rösrath), Breakdown on the A4 near Cologne (Frechen to Bensberg), and Breakdown on the A1 near Cologne (Leverkusen to Erfttal).

The feeder motorways: A57, A555 and A59

Each of these three motorways has its own page (currently in German): A57, A555 and A59.

Several motorways lead out of the ring into the surrounding area. If you break down there, the last exit you saw helps us find you.

According to Autobahn GmbH, over 120,000 vehicles a day use the A555 towards Bonn. More on the Cologne-Süd interchange is on our Breakdown on the A4 near Cologne page. The A59 leads to the airport, more on that in our city overview.

Crossing the Rhine: the Leverkusen and Rodenkirchen bridges

The Leverkusen bridge has its own page (currently in German): Breakdown at the Leverkusen Bridge.

Two Rhine bridges belong to the motorway network: in the south the Rodenkirchen bridge on the A4, in the north the Leverkusen motorway bridge on the A1, which lies half on Leverkusen territory but still counts as one of Cologne's Rhine crossings. There's barely any room to pull over on a bridge, so a broken-down vehicle can block several lanes fast. So tell us whether you're before, on, or past the bridge.

How to behave

• Hazard lights on, and if possible roll on to the next rest stop or exit
• Put on a hi-vis vest, get out on the passenger side, and go behind the crash barrier
• If anyone is injured, call 112 first
• Tell us your direction of travel, motorway and last exit

The detailed steps are in our guide (German) on breaking down on the motorway.

In a traffic jam: the emergency lane

In slow-moving or stopped traffic, everyone forms an emergency lane (Rettungsgasse): vehicles in the left lane move left, all others move right. A broken-down vehicle mustn't block it. On the Cologne ring, where jams are a daily occurrence, that can matter a lot.

Towing off the motorway

When towing a vehicle that's broken down on the motorway, German law requires leaving the motorway at the next exit (§ 15a(1) StVO). From there it continues to the destination. If the police attend, or you've used an emergency call box, a contracted company is often assigned. You can state your preference, but it isn't guaranteed.

Who actually comes in Cologne?

Faster is based in Antwerp. In Cologne and the surrounding area we work with partners who carry out the job on site. We coordinate the help.