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Breakdown Recovery Services: An Invaluable Service For Anyone Who Drives
Author: Gabriel Adams
Breakdown recovery services are an invaluable service to anyone who drives. You are entitled to use a breakdown recovery service if your vehicle will not start or the vehicle stops working on the road. Most vehicles are repairable on the roadside but on the rare occasion that yours isn't fixable; your vehicle will be towed either to your home or to the garage.
All breakdown recovery services offer roadside assistance where rescue vehicles are sent to wherever you have broken down, relay which takes the driver and passenger to their destination, and home start to help start your car at home. Higher and more expensive levels of cover may offer a courtesy car or accommodation if you are away from home if you travel regularly abroad it is well worth considering taking out breakdown cover for this.
Some companies offer cover for motorbikes and minibuses as well as cars. For motorcycles this is useful if you suffer from a puncture, have a flat battery or run out of fuel miles away from the service station. Recovery assistance is generally provided by trained mechanics or by a member of the local
garage.
Do check if your cover is for the person or the vehicle. You may not be covered if someone else drives your car. Also it is important to check if there is a maximum amount of callouts allowed or if there are limitations on the cost of parts or mechanical expertise charged. Do you travel long distances regularly?
Some recovery services offer a long distance vehicle recovery service. Does your policy give priority to anyone who may be in a vulnerable position such as lone female drivers? It is important to check the exclusions section of your cover. Some companies may not cover your vehicle if you breakdown within a certain radius of your home or if you lose your keys. Do shop around before committing yourself.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/autos-articles/breakdown-recovery-services-an-invaluable-service-for-anyone-who-drives-149651.html
Road Safety Guides - What To Do If You Break Down
Author: M. Scriven
If your vehicle breaks down, think about safety, first: Here's a straightforward safety guide from GEM Motoring Assist, the leading UK driver based road safety association.
Consider your own safety
- get your vehicle off the road if possible
- ensure your passengers are safe and that animals are kept under control.
Warn other road users
- warn other traffic by using your hazard warning lights if your vehicle is causing an obstruction
- put a warning triangle on the road at least 45 metres (147 feet) behind your broken down vehicle on the same side of the road, or use other permitted warning devices if you have them. Always take great care when placing them, but never use them on motorways as this may put you in danger from oncoming traffic
- keep your sidelights on if it is dark or visibility is poor
- do not stand (or let anybody else stand) between your vehicle and oncoming traffic
- at night or in poor visibility do not stand where you will prevent other road users seeing your lights
- wear a reflective/fluorescent jacket or tabard.
Calling for help
- do not use mobile phones if there is a danger from petrol spillage or fumes
- contact the emergency services by dialing 999 or 112 (new international emergency code), or if you are a member call GEM Motoring Assist Breakdown Cover or other breakdown organisation
- give clear instructions of your general location: road number, direction of travel and specific local landmarks will aid your rescue
- also tell them your vehicle type and colour, registration number and how many persons are in the vehicle
- an indication of the cause of the breakdown will also help
- when help arrives, ask for proof of identity.
On Motorways - safety first
Leave the motorway at the nearest exit or pull into a service area. When this is not possible:
- use your indicators or hazard warning lights and pull on to the hard shoulder. Stop as far to the left as possible, with your wheels turned to the left
- try to stop near an emergency telephone (every mile on the hard shoulder) with the front passenger door as close to the phone as possible
- you must leave the vehicle by the left-hand passenger doors
- wear a reflective/fluorescent jacket or tabard
- do not cross the carriageway to reach a closer phone it is safer to wait on the verge. (Remember, 10% of motorway accidents are collisions with vehicles parked on the hard shoulder.)
- do not leave the keys in the car. If possible, lock all the doors except the front passenger door, which you should leave fully open so you can get back in quickly if needs be
- keep passengers away from the carriageway and children under control. Make sure children are safe - do not leave them in the car by themselves
- if you are an elderly or disabled person, or have small children with you, you may decide it is more sensible to stay in the vehicle. If so, park it as close to the verge as possible
- you must leave animals in the vehicle, with windows only far enough down to let in air. Only let them out of the vehicle in an emergency, but keep them under proper control on the verge
- do not attempt even simple repairs and do not leave the car bonnet open.
On Motorways - getting help
- walk to the nearest emergency telephone, following the arrows on the marker posts every 100 metres at the back of the hard shoulder. Calls are free and connect directly to the Police - they will know where you are. Stand behind the phone and watch out for passing traffic, or anyone approaching you
- give full details, also inform them if you feel vulnerable. Tell them the number of your breakdown organisation, your car registration and the number shown on the nearest marker post
- return and wait near your vehicle, preferably behind the barrier on the motorway embankment
- when help arrives, ask for ID and check that the breakdown person knows your name
- NEVER get into a car with a stranger or try to hitch a lift
- if someone offers help, stay inside your car with the doors locked (keep windows partially open) and ask them to phone your breakdown organisation for you
- if a car stops while you are waiting for help and you feel uneasy, stay in the passenger seat of your car and lock the door. Phone the Police and give them the car's registration number
- when rejoining the motorway, always increase speed on the hard shoulder and watch for a safe gap in the traffic.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/autos-articles/road-safety-guides-what-to-do-if-you-break-down-92823.html
What Ever Happened To The Old Breakdown Cover Clubs?
By Mark Flanighan
As a child I remember my parents proudly displaying what can only be described as a big square metal badge on the front grill of our car with "RAC" written on it. Of course the RAC was called the Royal Automobile Club in those days and would come to your rescue should we have broken down, which of course we did on several occasions. The Automobile association or the AA, was another motoring club set up to help motorists, originally to monitor speeds and then progressed in to breakdown cover.
From the early 1900’s right up through the “Golden Motoring Years” these motoring clubs would employ patrolmen, to reach their members in the quickest time. Before mobile phones, emergency phone boxes, that looked like old police phone boxes, would be strategically placed along major roads, so as to be the most convenient to motorists who had a breakdown. Emergency call outs were often done by a patrolman on a motorcycle, as it wasn’t until later years they started using, cars vans and then recovery vehicles. These motoring clubs offered more than just breakdown cover, you were a member of a club and with that came privileges with motoring advice and maybe even a bit of prestige. Just like my parents, motorists were proud to display the badges of their motoring club on their cars. In fact in the fifties, it was the norm for any patrolman who saw their club badge on a car to stop and salute their members as they drove past, could you imagine that happening today?
The names of the RAC and the AA are still around today and still offer breakdown cover but without the banner of being a motoring club. In fact the RAC separated itself from its breakdown cover operation and its motoring club function, so now we have the RAC and the Royal Automobile Club, which still has its base in Pall Mall in London and is an exclusive club to join.
The RAC like the AA are now both insurance providers and are owned by insurance companies. It is true that breakdown cover, really is an insurance policy, that delivers insurance that matches the cover you have bought. It seems that the modern motorist does not want to pay that extra premium to be part of a motoring club but would prefer the cheaper option, delivered by large organizations that can use economy of scales to deliver cheaper breakdown cover polices.
As you can but a breakdown cover policy from under 30 pounds a year, it is quite remarkable how a service of any kind can be delivered for that. Even one call out from a garage could be considerably more than an annual policy where you will get unlimited call outs as part of your cover. If you pay some more and be cover to be transported home should you breakdown, then the savings could be even greater.
There is something missing with the demise of these motoring clubs, but like everything else in life, it comes down to priorities and lower costs and more profits.
Mark is webmaster for Car Breakdown Cover, More Emergency Patrols Than Anyone Else In The UK and Breakdown Cover And Emergency Roadside Assistance Information
Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Ever-Happened-To-The-Old-Breakdown-Cover-Clubs?&id=484700
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