24/7 towing and roadside help
Towing in Rochester, NY: Tow Trucks From Charlotte to Henrietta, Day or Night
Stuck in Rochester? Call 1-888-TOW-1213. We lock your price by text, send the nearest available partner tow company and check on you until help arrives.
If anyone is hurt or you're stopped in a live lane, call 911 first.
- Check-ins until help arrives
- Driver card and truck tracking
- Price locked by text
- Photo-protected tow
How it works in Rochester. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Rochester area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Rochester? Find a tow truck near you.
Tow truck in Rochester
Towing in Rochester, Loop by Loop
Rochester's expressways were built as two rings with spokes. The Outer Loop circles just outside the city. What's left of the Inner Loop wraps downtown. Tell us which road you're on, your direction and the last exit you passed. We text your price, then send a vetted partner.
The Can of Worms
This is where I-490 meets I-590 and NY 590 on the Brighton line. Some old exits are gone, so name the road you came from and where you were headed. Stalled on a ramp? Hazards on, belt on, then call.
I-490 and the Douglass-Anthony Bridge
I-490 crosses the Genesee River on the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge and runs through downtown as part of the Inner Loop. West of the river it's the Western Gateway, past the ballpark. A flat there may be a tire change if there's room to work safely. If not, it's a short tow to the next exit.
I-390 through Henrietta
I-390 meets the Thruway in southern Henrietta, then passes the Hylan Drive exit for The Marketplace Mall on its way into Brighton. A car that won't start in a mall lot is usually a jump start first.
NY 104 and the Irondequoit Bay Bridge
East of NY 590, Route 104 turns into an expressway and crosses the bay into Webster. A bridge is a bad place to wait. If the car will still roll, get across before you stop.
Lake Avenue and Charlotte
The Lake Ontario State Parkway ends at Lake Avenue, near Charlotte and Ontario Beach Park. A battery that sat all day in a beach lot in July, or a snowy lot in January, can leave you stuck at the lake.
The Thruway exits
Three Thruway exits serve the area: 45 by Victor, 46 in Henrietta and 47 out toward Le Roy. On the Thruway itself, only authorized Thruway garages may service or tow your car, and emergencies go to 911. Once you're down the ramp, call us.
Lake Ontario winters
On Average, Rochester Gets More Snow Than Buffalo
Most of Rochester's heavy snow is lake effect off Lake Ontario. By NOAA's normals, the Rochester airport averages more snow each year than the Buffalo airport does. January is the worst month.
City crews plow the main streets. Contractors plow residential streets, generally once three inches of new snow falls. Salt goes on main roads and on some streets with schools, bus routes, bridges or hills. The city says it generally doesn't salt residential streets.
So a side street in the 19th Ward can be packed ice while the main road around the corner is just wet. Slide into a snowbank there and you likely need a winch-out, not a tow.
The city also says to keep your gas tank at least half full and carry a scraper, a shovel, a flashlight, blankets and jumper cables.
City rules
Rochester's Snow Parking Plans
A dead car on the wrong side of the street on a plowing day is two problems at once. The city announces one of three plans through the media when it snows:
- Plowing Day Parking RestrictionAlternate side rules for residential streets. The usual pattern: even-numbered side only until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Odd-numbered side on Sunday and until 7 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
- Snow EmergencyNo parking at all on Snow Emergency Routes, so the city can keep them open.
- Parking EmergencyNo parking on announced residential streets while crews clear them curb to curb.
Outside those rules, no car may sit on a city street for more than twelve hours unless alternate parking is posted. And police say a car left illegally parked during restrictions or a snow emergency for more than 48 hours may be treated as abandoned. Read it all on the city's winter parking page. If your car is dead on the wrong side, call early.
Police, impound and private lots
If a Rochester Officer Stops to Help
The Rochester Police Department's towing policy says an officer may help a stranded driver reach a repair shop or tow service. If you have no preference, the officer may call a city-contracted tow company, and you pay for it.
So if you've already called us, tell the officer your tow is on the way. At a crash scene, follow the officer's lead. We don't take police rotation or impound calls.
Looking for a car that's gone? The RPD Auto Impound page has a vehicle lookup, and the lot is on Colfax Street. Cars towed after a crash don't always go there, so the city says to call 311. From a private lot, check the posted sign. It names the tow company, and police aren't told about private tows.
Give the truck room
New York's move over law tells drivers to use care around tow trucks with amber lights, and to change out of the lane next to the shoulder on expressways and parkways when they safely can. It also protects any car stopped on the shoulder of those roads, including yours on the Outer Loop.
Areas we cover around Rochester
Both Banks of the Genesee, and the Towns Around Them
- West side: the 19th Ward, Edgerton, Maplewood and Charlotte, plus Gates, Chili and Greece.
- East side: Park Avenue, Browncroft, the Neighborhood of the Arts, North Winton Village and Marketview Heights, plus Irondequoit and Webster.
- South side: the South Wedge, Swillburg, Highland Park, Upper Monroe and Cobbs Hill, plus Brighton and Henrietta.
- Out the 490: East Rochester, Pittsford, Perinton and Victor.
You'll get a text with your driver's name, photo and truck, and a link to track your truck. We keep checking on you until it pulls up. That's the Stay-With-You Promise.
Rochester questions
Rochester Towing Questions
A police officer stopped behind me. Can I still use Sentinel?
Usually, yes. Tell the officer you already have a tow coming. The city-contracted company is for drivers with no preference. If it's a crash and the officer directs the tow, follow their lead.
It's a plowing day and my car is dead on the wrong side. What now?
Call early, before the switch. If it clicks and won't crank, a jump may get it moving. If it needs a tow, tell us where it should go and your price comes by text before anyone is sent.
My car disappeared from a private lot. Where is it?
Look for the tow sign at the lot entrance. It names the company that removes cars from that lot. Police aren't notified of private tows. If you parked on a city street instead, use the RPD Auto Impound lookup.
My car quit on the Thruway near exit 46. Who do I call?
On the Thruway, the Thruway's authorized garages handle service and tows, and 911 handles emergencies. If you can coast off at exit 46 into Henrietta, call us from the bottom of the ramp.
Roadside help in Rochester, NY
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Rochester
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Rochester drivers. Tell us what happened, and we send a vetted local towing company near you with a truck suited to the job: a tow truck for a car that can't be driven (a flatbed where the vehicle needs one, like many all-wheel-drive cars), or a service truck for a jump start, lockout, flat tire, fuel delivery or winch-out.
Car towing
Cars, SUVs, minivans and light pickups. Price locked by text, photos before hookup.
Car towing
Jump starts
Clicks, dim dash lights or nothing at all? A dead battery jump, day or night.
Jump starts
Car lockouts
Keys locked inside, on the seat or in the trunk. A partner works to get you back in without damage.
Car lockouts
Flat tire changes
Got a spare but no safe way to put it on? A partner swaps it for you.
Flat tire changes
Fuel delivery
Ran out of gas? Enough fuel to get you to the nearest station.
Fuel delivery
Winch-outs
Stuck in snow, mud or a shallow ditch near the road? A partner can usually pull you out.
Winch-outsThe Sentinel Stay-With-You Promise
Seven Promises on Every Rochester Call
Read the fine print on the promise page.
We stay with you. From your call until the truck arrives, we check on you by text.
See your driver before they arrive. You get their name, photo and truck by text, and you can track your truck on a map.
Your family knows too. Give us one number, and we text them your location and arrival time.
Photo-protected tow. Before hookup, your driver photographs all 4 sides of your vehicle. We text you the photos.
Price locked by text. You get your price by text before we dispatch. That price is the most you pay for the job. If the job changes, we text a new price first and you decide.
Never stranded after. Ride along in the truck when it's safe and allowed, or we help you get a ride. We also point you to a good repair shop.
Free Sentinel Circle. After your first job, your vehicle is on file. Next time, just text "TOW" for priority dispatch.
How it works
From Your Call to Your Driver
- 01You call
Our 24/7 line answers
Call 1-888-TOW-1213. Tell us where you are, what you drive and what went wrong.
- 02We lock it in
Your price, by text
We text your price before anyone is sent. That's the most you'll pay for the job you described.
- 03A partner accepts
The nearest truck takes it
The nearest available partner tow company accepts your job. They're vetted for insurance and licensing.
- 04You see who's coming
Driver card and tracking
You get your driver's name, photo and truck, plus a link to track your truck. We check in until they arrive.
Nearby cities
Rochester roadside guides
Rochester, NY
Stuck in Rochester? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.