116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Curious Iowa: What happens after your car slides off the road in a snowstorm?
From the initial 911 call to the final tow, officials explain the steps of keeping drivers safe while helping them get off the roads
Jan. 5, 2026 5:30 am, Updated: Jan. 5, 2026 9:20 am
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Multiple storms have made travel difficult on Iowa’s roads in the last month, which means winter rescue crews have been busier than in previous years.
Sgt. Alex Dinkla, a public information officer with the Iowa State Patrol, said with more snow so far this season, more cars have slid off the road, and more roads have been impacted all over the state.
“The number one message is that when conditions dictate dangerous travel, making a good decision and an informed decision of whether your trip is necessary or not,” he said. “You risk yourself or others’ lives by taking out on a trip that maybe isn’t needed.”
But how are cars and drivers rescued when their cars do slide off the road? That’s what one person asked Curious Iowa, a series from The Gazette that answers readers’ questions about the state and how it works.
How do snow rescues work?
Dinkla said the snowstorm that hit north central Iowa in the last week of December was a good example of how snow rescues work.
When blizzard conditions hit the region Dec. 28 and 29, he said the Iowa State Patrol and other law enforcement personnel were “overwhelmed” by the number of vehicles off the roads and drivers in need of aid.
In total, state troopers reported 193 calls for service between 6 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 28 and 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 29. That included 37 crashes resulting in 12 injures and one death.
When drivers call 911 for help, Dinkla said law enforcement works to get out on the scene and with the stranded drivers as soon as possible.
“They're still in harm's way due to the exposure that people could take, and so we're always concentrated on getting those folks rescued out of their vehicles as quickly as possible,” he said.
Typically, there will always be a state trooper, police officer or sheriff’s deputy arriving on the scene first to assess the situation.
In the scenarios where there are no injuries to the drivers or passengers and the vehicle isn’t damaged, Dinkla said the officer will take the people to a safe location, off the road or interstate. He said this is typically a hotel or a gas station.
If there are too many people, the officer may call for additional law enforcement help to take people to a second location.
“We know that people are susceptible to other crashes and other exposure, so we get them out of those roadways, out of that environment, and we take them to a nearby safe location, so that those parties are out of harm's way,” he said.
After arriving at the safe location, Dinkla said it is up to the driver to find a safe way back to their vehicle the next day or to call a tow truck to pick up their car.
“If they're heading home and it's not too far away, (we give) them a ride there,” Dinkla said. “But after the rescue has done, it's going to be up to that private person to find their own needs going forward, whether it's finding a hotel room, finding shelter for the evening, but we want to make sure that they're out of the harm's way and get them to a safe location where their resources can be met elsewhere.”
He said the process can vary a bit depending on the officer and the situation.
“We obviously don't want somebody to be dropped off in an unknown location, so those officers do a very good job of trying to adhere to the person's needs,” he said.
Andrew Lindley, owner of Darrah's Towing & Recovery in Hiawatha, said they get a steady stream of calls for towing help throughout the year, but said calls for help in the winter months “ramp up.”
In fact, to prepare for the influx of calls they get during the winter season, Darrah’s hires seven additional tow truck drivers for the winter months.
At Darrah's Towing & Recovery, Lindley said they try to dispatch tow truck drivers to Iowans in 30 minutes or less to help them tow their cars back to where they’re needed.
He said many calls are for drivers who have slid off the road, but they also respond to drivers who are locked out of their cars or have a frozen car battery.
“We usually see a 35 percent increase (in calls) during the wintertime,” Lindley said, adding that the number of calls in the winter stays high even when there isn’t much snow on the ground.
At Darrah’s, Lindley said they use software called Tow Book, which allows them to gather the driver’s and the car’s information before dispatching a truck driver to pick them up.
“It’s made our lives very easy,” Lindley said.
Across the board, Lindley said about a quarter of the calls the company receives are from drivers who have hit deer. He said in the past year alone, there has been an uptick in the number of deer-related collisions.
If there are any injuries from a crash or from sliding off the road, Dinkla said the officers responding to the crash will call for medics to help.
“They're the experts in that field. We don't want to be the decision-maker whether somebody seeks medical attention or not,” he said. “We're going to leave that up to the person that they choose to go see a medical care provider. We will definitely provide those resources and get the necessary first responders to our location and let them assess the situation and take those folks to get the proper care that they need.”
Preparation is key
Although the first advice to drivers is to decide whether winter driving is truly necessary, if the trip is unavoidable, Dinkla said there are simple steps drivers can take to be prepared if they do slide off the road or become stuck in their cars.
One key way to prepare is to consult weather and road conditions in advance through 511ia.org, a website and app that allows the public to monitor road conditions.
Regardless of the season, Dinkla said Iowans should keep a cellphone charger, water, some food, a blanket, jumper cables, a shovel and a coat in their vehicles in case they become stranded or need to wait for assistance.
He also urged Iowans to make sure their cars are equipped and prepared for the trip ahead of time.
When a vehicle is being picked up along the side of the road to be towed away, Lindley said drivers should always “slow down and move over” to give the tow truck and its driver ample room.
“We always ask that (drivers) please slow down and move over. Give our drivers the space they need to make it home safe at night,” he said, “You would think it would be common sense, but people still don't move over. It's scary out there for these guys.”
Dinkla said officials are always prepared for the winter season, starting to prepare for snowy, cold and icy conditions ahead of the weather itself.
He said that it is no different heading into 2026 and through the rest of this winter.
“Our team is going to stand ready, and whatever nature gives us, we will be out there giving 100 percent to the traveling public and the motorists,” he said. “That's what they deserve from us.”
Have a question for Curious Iowa?
The Gazette will continue Curious Iowa in 2026, publishing stories every Monday. Tell us what to investigate next.
Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. She is also a contributing writer for the Ag and Water Desk, an independent journalism collaborative focusing on the Mississippi River Basin.
Sign up for our curated, weekly environment & outdoors newsletter.
Comments: olivia.cohen@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters