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Towing and recovery in County Meath · based in Dunshaughlin 085 783 9202

8 October 2026 · 2 min read

Stuck on the M3? What to do between Dunboyne and Kells

Thousands of Meath drivers use the M3 to get to Dublin and back every day. If your car gives up on it, here is the order of things.

A CC Recovery truck with a car on the deck, stopped on the hard shoulder of a dual carriageway

The M3 is the spine of County Meath. It carries commuters from Kells, Navan and Dunshaughlin down past Dunboyne to the Dublin border, and it is fast for most of its length. A car that stops on it needs a bit of method.

First, get the car out of the traffic

If the car is still rolling, indicate left and coast onto the hard shoulder. Stop as far left as you can, wheels turned towards the verge. Hazard lights on straight away, and sidelights as well in poor light or rain.

Then out, on the left

Everyone exits through the kerb-side doors, children first. Climb over the barrier, or onto the bank where there is none, and keep well back. Sitting in the car or standing at its rear is the most dangerous place to be.

The car can wait

A wheel change or a look at the engine next to traffic doing 120 km/h is not a risk worth taking. Leave all of that until the car is off the motorway.

Phone 112 first if needed

An injury, a fire, or a car stuck in a live lane is an emergency: 112 before anyone else.

Then ring us on 085 783 9202. To find you on the M3 we need:

  • The direction you were driving: towards Dublin, or towards Navan and Kells
  • The last exit or junction you passed, and any bridge, sign or marker post you can see
  • The car’s registration and what it is doing
  • Where you would like it taken: home, your garage or a dealer

If your phone can share your location, that helps more than anything.

The price, before we set off

Towing with us starts with a call-out from €150, and then €2 a kilometre to wherever the car is going. We add it up on the phone and you say yes or no before the truck moves.

A small hatchback strapped onto a CC Recovery flatbed beside a busy dual carriageway
A CC Recovery job. Number plates blurred.

Waiting it out

Stay over the barrier, wrap up and keep the phone charged. A hi-vis vest makes you easy to see. If you need to know where you are, look at your phone map rather than walking down the hard shoulder to find a marker post.

Not on the motorway itself?

Many breakdowns happen on the roads off the M3: the old N3 through Dunshaughlin, the regional roads into Trim and Ratoath, or a slip road at Navan. The same rules apply. Get off the carriageway, get people clear, then ring. Our note on breaking down on a dark country road covers the smaller roads.

More on breakdown recovery in Meath and the towns and roads we cover.