Free in select coverage areas
Free roadside assistance in
Wisconsin: Safety Patrol.
WisDOT Safety Patrol uses specially equipped patrol vehicles to provide free, limited help to motorists involved in minor crashes or breakdowns on selected high-volume highways and major work-zone corridors.
Official sources checked October 6, 2026There is no public Safety Patrol booking line. Operators make regular rounds through active coverage areas looking for disabled vehicles. WisDOT tells motorists to move out of traffic when possible, remain in the vehicle and keep seat belts fastened; call 911 when the breakdown or incident creates immediate danger.
Current published coverage includes sections of I-41, WIS 441, I-90/94 and I-94 in Milwaukee, Outagamie, Brown, Columbia and St. Croix counties. Separate sheriff and special-event teams can cover other scheduled locations.
Coverage is tied to the listed corridors, construction projects, special events and published patrol periods rather than one permanent statewide schedule. WisDOT's central patrol page does not promise a response time or publish one uniform daily shift for every corridor.
At a glance
Key facts about Safety Patrol
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
- Wisconsin Safety Patrol
- Operating agency
- Wisconsin Department of Transportation
- Published cost
- Free in select coverage areas
- Service area
- Current published coverage includes sections of I-41, WIS 441, I-90/94 and I-94 in Milwaukee, Outagamie, Brown, Columbia and St. Croix counties. Separate sheriff and special-event teams can cover other scheduled locations.
- Request or dispatch route
- There is no public Safety Patrol booking line. Operators make regular rounds through active coverage areas looking for disabled vehicles. WisDOT tells motorists to move out of traffic when possible, remain in the vehicle and keep seat belts fastened; call 911 when the breakdown or incident creates immediate danger.
- Information checked
- October 6, 2026
Operator and base
Who runs Safety Patrol
Wisconsin 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.
Administrative address only. WisDOT states that this location offers no public DMV services, and it is not a walk-in Safety Patrol base or roadside dispatch point.
Patrol footprint
Where and when the service operates
Current published coverage includes sections of I-41, WIS 441, I-90/94 and I-94 in Milwaukee, Outagamie, Brown, Columbia and St. Croix counties. Separate sheriff and special-event teams can cover other scheduled locations.
Coverage is tied to the listed corridors, construction projects, special events and published patrol periods rather than one permanent statewide schedule. WisDOT's central patrol page does not promise a response time or publish one uniform daily shift for every corridor.
- Milwaukee County: I-41 from Mayfair Road (Exit 42A) to Good Hope Road (Exit 47B).
- Outagamie County: I-41 from WIS 125 (Exit 137) to WIS 441 (Exit 145).
- Outagamie and Brown counties: I-41 from WIS 441 (Exit 145) to County F (Exit 161).
- Outagamie County: WIS 441 from I-41 (Exit 145) to County CE (Exit 8).
- Columbia County: I-90/94 from County CS to WIS 33.
- Milwaukee County: I-94 from Highway 100 (Exit 304) to St. Paul Avenue/James Lovell Street (Exit 1H).
- St. Croix County and the Minnesota approach: I-94 from Carmichael Road (Wisconsin Exit 2) to Manning Avenue/MN 95 (Minnesota Exit 253).
Published assistance
What Safety Patrol 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.
- Disabled-vehicle relocation
- Small amount of fuel
- Flat-tire change
- Battery jump-start
- Debris removal and traffic control
Before relying on it
Coverage and service limits
- This is not blanket statewide coverage and patrol presence changes with corridor projects and scheduled operations.
- Operators patrol rather than accept direct bookings, and WisDOT does not guarantee that a unit will reach a particular motorist.
- Relocation is to a designated safe place such as a crash-investigation site or park-and-ride lot; further towing or repair is separate.
- GEICO is the program sponsor, but WisDOT operates the patrol. Operators cannot contact GEICO for motorists or help with insurance claims.
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 the vehicle out of live traffic lanes when it can be done safely.
- 02
Stay inside the vehicle with seat belts fastened while waiting, unless fire or another immediate hazard makes that unsafe.
- 03
Use 911 for an immediate roadway danger, injury, fire or crash; the patrol itself does not publish a consumer booking number.
Program record
How the patrol is organized
WisDOT describes three related patrol models: the WisDOT Safety Patrol, the Dane County Sheriff's Freeway Service Team and contracted special-event service teams.
The present program traces back to Milwaukee County's Enhancement Freeway Patrol and the I-94 Gateway Patrol, both started in 1998. WisDOT consolidated them as the Freeway Service Team in 2008.
Special-event teams continuously patrol designated highway segments during specified operating hours and move disabled vehicles to a safe location where the motorist can arrange private towing if needed.
Primary-source record
Check the operating agency
Routes, hours and program rules can change. Use the official sources below for the latest operating information.
