No cost on covered routes
Free roadside assistance in
Rhode Island: Roadside Responder.
RIDOT Roadside Responders patrol Providence-area highways during weekday peaks and provide limited no-cost assistance.
Official sources checked October 6, 2026This is not an on-call service. Pull fully onto the shoulder when possible, contact a normal roadside provider, and call 911 if the situation is dangerous.
I-95 from the Massachusetts line to the Airport Connector, all of I-195, Route 146 from I-95 to Route 123, and all of Route 10 in Cranston and Providence.
Monday through Friday, 6:30–9:30 a.m. and 3:30–6:30 p.m.
At a glance
Key facts about Roadside Responder
This record separates the program operator, request method and actual patrol coverage so motorists can see what the published service does—and what it does not promise.
- Official program
- Rhode Island Roadside Responder
- Operating agency
- Rhode Island Department of Transportation
- Published cost
- No cost on covered routes
- Service area
- I-95 from the Massachusetts line to the Airport Connector, all of I-195, Route 146 from I-95 to Route 123, and all of Route 10 in Cranston and Providence.
- Request or dispatch route
- This is not an on-call service. Pull fully onto the shoulder when possible, contact a normal roadside provider, and call 911 if the situation is dangerous.
- Information checked
- October 6, 2026
Operator and base
Who runs Roadside Responder
Rhode Island Department of Transportation administers or operates this public motorist-assistance program. The service works through mobile patrol vehicles and traffic-management dispatch rather than as a repair shop that motorists visit.
The official program material reviewed for this page does not publish a public walk-in patrol base. Use the request or dispatch method above rather than traveling to an agency office for roadside help.
Patrol footprint
Where and when the service operates
I-95 from the Massachusetts line to the Airport Connector, all of I-195, Route 146 from I-95 to Route 123, and all of Route 10 in Cranston and Providence.
Monday through Friday, 6:30–9:30 a.m. and 3:30–6:30 p.m.
The operating agency publishes coverage as a corridor, route or patrol-area description rather than a guaranteed pickup radius. A vehicle inside the described area is not guaranteed an available unit.
Published assistance
What Roadside Responder can provide
These services are summarized from the operating agency's current public information. The attending operator decides what is safe and available at the scene.
- Emergency fuel
- Flat-tire change
- Minor mechanical help
- Battery jump-start
- Tow-truck contact and traffic control
Before relying on it
Coverage and service limits
- The service cannot be called directly.
- It does not replace commercial roadside assistance or towing.
- Only listed routes and peak periods are patrolled.
If you are stranded
What to do before help arrives
These steps combine the program's published request guidance with basic roadside-safety precautions. Conditions at the scene always take priority.
- 01
Move as far away from live traffic as safely possible and switch on the vehicle's hazard lights.
- 02
Use the published request method for this program: This is not an on-call service. Pull fully onto the shoulder when possible, contact a normal roadside provider, and call 911 if the situation is dangerous.
- 03
Call 911 for a crash, injury, fire, vehicle in a live lane or any other immediate danger.
Primary-source record
Check the operating agency
Routes, hours and program rules can change. Use the official sources below for the latest operating information.
