How our tow trucks reach Dartmouth from New Bedford
Dartmouth is the town on New Bedford's western line, and the two centers are about 4 miles apart by road. Our trucks head out on I-195 westbound or on US 6, which runs through Dartmouth as State Road, so North Dartmouth is a short run for us.
It is also a big town: 60.9 square miles of land and 33,783 people at the 2020 Census, stretching from Fall River and Freetown on the north to Buzzards Bay on the south. A car stopped up at Hixville or on a shore road in South Dartmouth is a longer drive than one at Smith Mills, and that goes into the arrival window we give you on the call.
- Distance from New Bedford
- About 4 miles, center to center by road
- I-195 exits in Dartmouth
- 19 at Reed Road and 22 at Faunce Corner Road, split A and B westbound
- Town police
- Dartmouth Police Department, business line (508) 910-1700
- State Police on I-195
- Dartmouth barracks, 265 Faunce Corner Road, (508) 993-8373
- Snow-ban parking
- Off the hydrant side; with no hydrant, on the even-numbered side
Nights and weekends run on weekday terms: the truck that covers New Bedford takes the Dartmouth call, and the quote is one total you agree to before it leaves - a night tow off the I-195 shoulder included.
I-195, State Road and the campus: where Dartmouth tows start
Two interchanges serve the town: exit 19 at Reed Road and exit 22 at Faunce Corner Road, both split into A and B ramps westbound. Drivers who learned the old numbers know them as 11 and 12; MassDOT's renumbering table lists both. Between those exits and the Route 140 interchange in New Bedford, a car that quits on I-195 gets picked up from a shoulder with traffic going by at highway speed.
US 6 runs parallel to the interstate through the northern business part of town. The Dartmouth Mall has sat off US 6 and Faunce Corner Road since 1971, and the plazas along State Road are where we load cars that will not start or will not shift out of park.
That stretch is due for work. MassDOT project 607871 rebuilds Route 6 from Faunce Corner Mall Road to just east of Hathaway Road, with a new signal at Hathaway Road, a replaced signal at Tucker Road, added turn lanes and a new bridge over the Paskamansett River. Dartmouth Week reported in April 2026 that the start has slipped to 2027. Once it begins, tell us which side of the work zone the car is on.
UMass Dartmouth's campus is on Old Westport Road, southwest of Smith Mills. A student's car that sat in a campus lot through a cold week and will not turn over usually needs a jump start in a campus lot, not a tow.
South of the highway the calls change: summer traffic heads for Padanaram Harbor and Demarest Lloyd State Park, a state beach known for its shallow water, and winter puts cars into the ridges the plows leave. That is pulling a car back onto a Dartmouth road, with a tow after it only if the car needs one.
Who orders a tow in Dartmouth, and how to find a towed car
Which agency is involved depends on the road. Off the interstate, it is the Dartmouth Police Department at 1390 Tucker Road: business line (508) 910-1700, records (508) 910-1774. On I-195 it is the Massachusetts State Police, whose Dartmouth barracks on Faunce Corner Road covers 31 miles of the interstate, from Mattapoisett to the Rhode Island line.
- A tow a trooper ordered. It is handled by a State Police contracted tow company. If nobody gave you a business card, the State Police say to call the barracks covering the spot the car was taken from - here, Dartmouth, (508) 993-8373.
- A tow from a private lot. A lot owner cannot have a car taken until the police chief has been told, in writing unless the chief waives that, which plate it is and which company is towing it - M.G.L. c.266 §120D. That puts the record with the Dartmouth Police.
- A tow from a UMass Dartmouth lot. The university tows from its own property, and its parking office tells owners to contact the University Police, 508-999-8107.
- A tow during a snow ban. Chapter 340 of the town code lets the Department of Public Works remove any vehicle interfering with plowing, puts the removal, towing and storage on the owner, and requires the DPW to tell the owner the car was moved and where.
When the DPW calls a parking ban, there is no parking on the hydrant side of the street, and on a street with no hydrant, cars go on the side with the even-numbered houses. Bans are declared storm by storm - the one for the January 18, 2026 storm ran from noon Sunday to noon Monday - so check the town's notice before leaving a car out.
Police-ordered and trespass tows are involuntary, and the state caps their charges under 220 CMR 272; Dartmouth's snow code ties its towing and storage charges to M.G.L. c.159B §6B. A tow you arrange with us is a private agreement the DPU does not regulate, so we quote it first - how a Dartmouth tow is priced lists what goes into that number.
Flatbed or wheel-lift for a Dartmouth tow, and what we ask
The car decides the truck, not the town. A front-wheel-drive sedan lifted by its drive wheels rides a wheel-lift to a shop on State Road without harm. All-wheel-drive and electric cars, lowered cars, and anything that cannot roll or steer after a crash ride on the bed; why the drivetrain decides the truck has the manufacturers' reasons.
- Where it is. Exit number and direction on I-195, the store or plaza on State Road, the campus lot, or the street and nearest cross street in the villages.
- What it is. The model year, the make, and the drivetrain - front-wheel, all-wheel, electric or hybrid.
- Keys and neutral. Whether the key is with the car and whether it will shift out of park.
- Where it goes. A shop in Dartmouth, a dealer in New Bedford, or your driveway.
We are a light-duty operation. A loaded box truck, a pickup with a heavy trailer hitched, or farm equipment past a light-duty rating is not our job, and we tell you so on the phone rather than after a truck has driven out.
The towns on either side of Dartmouth
Dartmouth sits between two of our other towns. West on I-195 is Westport, where Route 88 runs down to Horseneck Beach - see towing in Westport, 11 miles out. East, past the city and across the harbor, is Fairhaven. All of it is covered by the same trucks that take every tow call in New Bedford.
Frequently asked
How do I find my towed car in Dartmouth, MA?
Start with the agency behind the tow. For town roads and private lots, call the Dartmouth Police business line at (508) 910-1700, since a lot owner must notify the police with the plate and the tow company's name before a trespass tow. For I-195, call the State Police barracks on Faunce Corner Road at (508) 993-8373, and for a UMass Dartmouth lot, the University Police at 508-999-8107.
What is Dartmouth's parking ban rule in a snowstorm?
When the town declares a ban, there is no parking on the hydrant side of the street, and where there is no hydrant, cars go on the side with even-numbered houses. Each ban is announced with its own start and end time. The town code lets the Department of Public Works remove a car that interferes with plowing, with the tow and any storage charged to the owner.
Who handles a crash on I-195 in Dartmouth?
The Massachusetts State Police Dartmouth barracks, on Faunce Corner Road, covers I-195 from Mattapoisett to the Rhode Island line. If a trooper orders the car moved, a State Police contracted tow company takes it. A car you get safely onto the shoulder and call us about is ours to quote.
How long does a tow truck take to reach Dartmouth?
The center of Dartmouth is about 4 miles from the center of New Bedford by road, so it is one of our shorter runs, but the town is large and the window depends on where the car is. The timing is something we tell you when you call, once we know where the car is and where the truck is.
How much does a tow in Dartmouth cost?
It depends on the job: how far the car goes, which truck it needs, how long we are on scene and whether it needs winching first, all rolled into one number you hear before we dispatch. State rate caps under 220 CMR 272 apply only to involuntary tows - police-ordered or from private property - and the cost page sets them out.