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Freeway breakdowns in Houston: Tow and Go (formerly SafeClear)
Houston clears stalled cars from its freeways quickly on purpose. Since 2018 the free part of that program has been called Tow and Go.
General information, not legal advice. The papers you got from the police, the tow company, the storage lot or a state agency control your dates. Agencies change phone numbers and steps, so check the agency's own page too.
When the tow is free
If your vehicle breaks down from a mechanical problem (for example out of gas, overheating or a flat tire) on a covered freeway, a Tow and Go operator tows it at no cost to a safe place off the freeway, within about a mile. If you have a working spare and jack, the operator will change a flat for free. The number is (713) 881-3333.
Tollways and the Katy Freeway HOT lanes are not covered.
Sources: City of Houston: Tow and Go page; HPD Motorist Rights and Guidelines (rev. Jan. 31, 2025)
When you pay
Crashes, abandoned or unattended vehicles and law-enforcement incidents are not free. Neither is a tow to your home or another place you choose. In those cases the City's nonconsent tow rate applies ($232 in 2026).
Sources: City of Houston: Tow and Go page; HPD Motorist Rights and Guidelines (rev. Jan. 31, 2025); City rate notice for 2026 (ARA, Nov. 25, 2025)
Who may tow on a freeway
City Code treats a wrecked or stalled vehicle on a freeway as a police scene. Only a Tow and Go contractor, a police-agreement wrecker called by an officer, or a wrecker you called that arrives before the officer orders removal may tow it.
How it started
The City created SafeClear in 2004 (Ord. No. 2004-497) and launched it in January 2005, dividing freeways into segments with assigned tow companies. At first the City paid for shoulder tows. Tow companies left out of the contracts sued three times; a 2005 ruling struck the parts about consent tows, and later challenges failed. In 2011 the City made owners pay $50 for shoulder tows. In 2018 the regional council took the program over as Tow and Go, free again for breakdowns.
Sources: Houston Professional Towing Ass'n v. City of Houston, No. 15-20117 (5th Cir. Feb. 3, 2016); SafeClear Performance Report 2008 (Rice University and Texas Transportation Institute; City committee packet); SafeClear Performance Report 2014 (Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Rice University; City committee packet); City of Houston: Tow and Go page
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