The N2 is the main road out of Dublin through Ashbourne and on towards Slane and the north-east. It carries commuters, lorries and farm traffic, and it changes along the way: wide and fast around Ashbourne, narrower further north, with stretches where only a grass verge separates you from the ditch. What you should do depends on which kind of stretch you are on.
Step one: off the road and away from it
If the car is still moving, signal and pull in as far to the left as you can. Where there is a hard shoulder, use it. Where there is not, aim for a lay-by, a wide gateway or a side road before the car stops completely, if it gives you the chance. Hazard lights on straight away.
Step two: everybody out on the left
Everyone leaves by the doors on the verge side, then moves well back, behind a barrier or up a bank if there is one. Do not stay sitting in the car and do not stand behind it. On a fast road, do not walk back along the edge to put out a warning triangle: it takes you closer to the traffic than the car is.
When to ring 112
If anyone is hurt, if the car is stuck in a lane where traffic can run into it, or if there is smoke or a fuel leak, ring 112 before anyone else. The Gardaí can manage traffic in a way a recovery truck cannot.
Step three: tell us where you are
Ring 085 783 9202. The N2 is a long road, so a few details save a lot of time:
- Your direction: towards Dublin, or north towards Slane
- The last town, junction or roundabout you passed, and the next one you were heading for
- Anything near you with a name: a filling station, a church, a business sign, a road sign
- The reg and the make, and how the car behaved in the last minute or so
- The address it should end up at
If your phone can drop a pin from its map app, send it. That takes the guesswork away.
Getting the car off the N2
When the truck reaches you, the driver sets it up to load the car with as little time beside the traffic as possible. The car goes up onto the deck, is strapped down by the wheels and is taken to the address you gave us.
What it costs
A call-out from €150, then €2 a kilometre to the destination. A short run, for example to a garage in Ashbourne, is mostly the call-out. A run home to the far side of the county, or into a dealer in Dublin, adds the kilometres. You hear the full figure on the phone before the truck leaves.
Roads that feed the N2
Breakdowns on the roads leading onto the N2, such as the road from Ratoath into Ashbourne, follow the same pattern with less room to work. Our note on breaking down on a dark country road covers the narrow roads, and the M3 guide covers the motorway on the other side of our base.
Worth carrying
One hi-vis vest per grown-up in the car, a torch, something warm for winter and a charged phone. On a road as busy as the N2, the vests matter most.
More on breakdown recovery in Meath, roadside assistance, and towing in Ashbourne and the other towns we cover.