No Membership, No Problem: Roadside Help on Regina's Ring Road

You don't need a membership to get roadside help on Regina's Ring Road. You pay for one job at a time. Pull onto the right shoulder, hazards on, and stay in the car. Then call and give three things: your direction, the last interchange you passed and what went wrong. Ring Road has 13 interchanges, so naming the nearest one helps your driver find the right side of the median.

Do you need a roadside plan to get help in Regina?

No. Plenty of drivers in Regina have no club card in the glove box. Maybe it lapsed. Maybe you bought the car last month. Maybe it's a borrowed truck from your brother-in-law in White City.

With Sentinel, you call when something goes wrong and pay for that one job. There is no yearly fee and no sign-up first. You tell us what happened and where you are. We text you the price before anyone heads out. That texted price is the most you pay for the job. If the job changes once your driver sees the car, we text a new price first, and you decide.

The price depends on the job. A dead battery on the shoulder is a different job from a car stuck in a snowbank off a ramp. Distance to the shop you pick matters too.

How do you tell your driver where you are on Ring Road?

Ring Road runs about 22 km around the south, east and north sides of the city. Lewvan Drive and Pasqua Street close the loop on the west. "I'm on Ring Road" could mean almost anywhere on that stretch.

Your direction matters most. On the south side, you are going east or west. On the east side, you are going north or south. On the north side, east or west again. Then name the last interchange behind you.

Here is the order, starting at the south end where Ring Road meets the Regina Bypass and Highway 1. The distances are rough, taken from the road's route list. They are not posted signs.

About km	Interchange or crossing	Good to know
0	Regina Bypass and Highway 1	The south end. Highway 1 heads west to Moose Jaw.
4.6	Lewvan Drive	Leads toward the airport.
6.5	Albert Street South	Highway 6 joins Ring Road here.
9.1	Wascana Parkway	The exit for the University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
11.1 to 11.4	Wascana Creek bridge, Assiniboine Avenue	Assiniboine has a northbound exit only.
12.8 to 14.0	Arcola Avenue, Victoria Avenue	The east side's two big crossings.
14.9 to 16.1	Dewdney Avenue, Ross Avenue	Half interchanges. Dewdney has a southbound exit only, Ross a northbound exit only.
17.4	McDonald Street	Highway 46 heads east toward Pilot Butte and Balgonie.
18.4 to 18.6	Two rail crossings	At street level, with signal lights.
18.8 to 21.7	Winnipeg Street, Albert Street North, Argyle Street	The north side. Highway 6 leaves at Albert Street North. Argyle has a westbound exit only.
22.3	Pasqua Street North	A traffic light, not a ramp. West of here the road is 9th Avenue North.

A useful call sounds like this: "Northbound on the east side, just past Arcola, before Victoria." If your phone can share your location, text that too.

Watch the half interchanges. If you say "near Dewdney" while going north, there is no exit there for you. Your driver may need to come back around from Ross Avenue or McDonald Street. Saying your direction saves that loop.

What if your car dies at the Ring Road rail crossings?

This is the one spot on Ring Road with no bridge over the tracks. Past McDonald Street, the road crosses a CN line and then a CP line at street level. Both have signal lights. In the evening rush, traffic often backs up through here, sometimes all the way over the McDonald Street interchange.

Stop-and-go traffic is hard on a weak battery or a hot engine. If your car quits in that line, here is the order:

• Off the tracks? Hazards on, belt on, stay in your seat. Call from the car.
• On the tracks? Get everyone out right away. Walk well clear of the rails and the lanes, then call 911.
• Stalled between the crossings? Tell us that. Your driver needs to know it's the short stretch between the two lines.

Never try to push a car over the tracks by yourself while the lights are flashing.

Is there construction on Ring Road right now?

Yes, on the north side at Albert Street North. The City of Regina is replacing the northbound Albert Street overpass this year. As of the city's latest update, the ramp from northbound Albert Street onto westbound Ring Road is still closed. The other ramps are open. Lane closures on Ring Road north happen on and off while crews work.

The city says all traffic limits there should be gone by October 16, 2026, unless something unexpected comes up. Until then, expect lane closures and little room to pull over near Albert Street North. If you stall in that zone, stay in the car with your hazards on. Mention the work zone when you call, so your driver can plan the approach.

Before you head out, check the city's Albert Street North overpass page for the latest.

How fast does Ring Road get plowed after a snowfall?

Ring Road is a Category 1 road on the city's snow plan. That's the top group, along with Lewvan Drive, Albert Street, Victoria Avenue and Arcola Avenue. After a snowfall of 5 cm or more, the city plows Category 1 roads first, ahead of side streets.

While snow is still falling, the city runs what it calls Storm Mode. Plows focus on Category 1 and 2 roads and on edge-of-town roads that tend to drift. Sand and salt go down after plowing, on spots like ramps, merge lanes, curves and bridges.

So the trouble spots are easy to guess. Ramps and the Wascana Creek bridge can stay slick even on a plowed day. The city also has an interactive map that shows where its winter crews are working during a snow event.

Wind is the other problem. Environment Canada's 1981 to 2010 normals for Regina's airport show blowing snow on about 19 days a year and fog on about 27. Drifting is the reason the city plows edge-of-town roads early in a storm.

What can be fixed right there on the shoulder?

A lot of Ring Road calls end without a hook. If the spot is safe, your driver can often do the job right there:

• The car only clicks. Regina sees lows below minus 30 C on about 12 days a year. A tired battery often gives up on mornings like that. A jump start may be all you need.
• A tire went flat. A flat tire change means your driver puts on your spare. Check that you have one, and find the wheel lock key if your car uses one.
• The gauge hit empty. Fuel delivery brings enough gas to get you to a station.

Your driver makes the safety call. On a narrow stretch, or with the flat on the traffic side, the answer may be a short tow to a safer spot first. If the car won't run after a jump, it's a tow to the shop you choose.

What should you do while you wait?

Saskatchewan's driver's handbook says to get onto the nearest shoulder at the first sign of trouble. Don't wait for the car to stall. Stop as far right as you can, and never stop in a driving lane.

Once you're stopped, the handbook says to stay with your car if you can. Four-way flashers or a raised hood tell other drivers you need help. If you must get out, use the door away from traffic.

When your partner tow company arrives, other drivers must slow to 60 km/h to pass a tow truck stopped with amber, or amber and blue, lights flashing. On a divided road like Ring Road, that covers your side of the median. Stay in your car until your driver tells you where to stand.

If anyone is hurt, or your car is stuck in a live lane, call 911 first. Sentinel is not an emergency service.

How does Sentinel work on Ring Road?

Sentinel Towing is a towing and roadside network. A vetted local partner tow company does the job. We lock your price by text first. Then we check on you by text until the truck arrives. You get your driver's name, photo and truck, and you can track your truck on a map. That's the Stay-With-You Promise.

For the Bypass, Highway 11 and the rest of the city, see the Regina towing page.

Stuck right now? Call 1-888-TOW-1213, or request help online.

Ring Road Roadside Questions

Rules change, so check the official source before you rely on it. Sources: SGI driver's handbook, City of Regina: Albert Street North overpass, City of Regina: plowing and ice control, Saskatchewan Highway Hotline, Environment Canada climate normals, Ring Road route.