 patrol Nick Powell has agreed to let me tag along for the day, to see what emergency calls come in and what we're all doing wrong on the road. "People will be so relieved when they see us. As soon as they spot the yellow van with flashing lights, their faces light up," Nick tells me, handing over an illuminous high-vis jacket for me to look the part. As our first job pops up the tablet, Nick explains: "No two days or breakdowns are the same. There is such a huge variety because every car and person is different." I learn that changing flat tyres is his most common task, as well as retrieving keys locked inside vehicles. "Being on the motorway can be really dangerous, even a basic job like changing a tyre," he says. "If it's on the offside where the traffic is flowing, it can be very daunting but you've just got to be aware of your surroundings." It takes us 15 minutes to get to the man whose Toyota won't start on the roadside. "I've been on holiday for two weeks with my family," he explains, as Nick tries to kickstart the battery. In no time at all, he gets the car running, but the driver will need to get a new one fitted at the garage as it's on warranty. "There's no better feeling than getting a broken down car running again when somebody's having a bad day," Nick tells me. "Seeing the customer's reaction when you say, 'I can fix this' is the best." Soon enough, I learn more about that feeling of accomplishment when he head to our next job. A workman has called The AA to fix his Ford Transit){kind=link}
Responding to emergency breakdowns can be stressful and dangerous, as Mirror writer Nia Dalton discovered on shift with The AA. But there are lots of ways drivers can stay safe and prevent accidents…
Clambering into the passenger seat of the bright yellow van, I feel pretty unprepared for my shift ahead – I don’t know a Lamborghini from a Peugeot and I most definitely have no idea how to fix a flat battery.
But despite how clueless I am about cars, AA roadside service (RSS) patrol Nick Powell has agreed to let me tag along for the day, to see what emergency calls come in and what we’re all doing wrong on the road.
“People will be so relieved when they see us. As soon as they spot the yellow van with flashing lights, their faces light up,” Nick tells me, handing over an illuminous high-vis jacket for me to look the part.
As our first job pops up the tablet, Nick explains: “No two days or breakdowns are the same. There is such a huge variety because every car and person is different.” I learn that changing flat tyres is his most common task, as well as retrieving keys locked inside vehicles.