Breakdown cover and patrol vehicles are trained to deal with a comprehensive range of breakdown problems at the roadside, but the majority of the calls that they receive are for preventable causes, issues that with planned maintenance can be avoided. Here are the five most common preventable problems:

Flat Battery / Faulty Battery – If you’ve not got a set of jump leads and a willing ‘donor’ car, or a car battery recharger to hand, the next best thing you can do is call for breakdown assistance. Loss of voltage caused by short journeys is a frequent cause of flat batteries. To prevent your car battery running flat take the car on a longer journey every week. If this is not possible, a fortnightly overnight charge of the battery will do the trick. Loose and corroded terminal or clamp connections cause problems too.

Flat tyres – A vast number of vehicle breakdown call outs are for assistance in changing tyres and replacing damaged wheels.?Under inflated tyres for the car’s load are a prime cause of tyre failure. To prevent this from becoming an issue tyre pressure should be checked regularly. Use a tyre inflation pump and monitor to achieve the correct pressure. If a tyre is constantly losing pressure over time it may be that you have a slow puncture and need the tyre replacing.

Alternator – If the alternator is not working properly your car battery does not charge, this drops the voltage of your battery to a level that is insufficient to run the engine, and so the engine cuts out.?While there is little you can do to maintain the alternator yourself, you can watch out for signs that tell you when your alternator is faulty. Look out for a flickering of your battery warning light on the dashboard for instance, and keep an eye out for dimmed headlamps and dimmed dashboard lights when the engine is idling.

Starter motor – If the starter motor fails your engine won’t start. Regular garage maintenance can help highlight faults with the starter motor so it doesn’t become a breakdown issue.

Fuel – Every year hundreds of thousands of people put the wrong type of fuel into their cars or simply run out of fuel at the side of the road. Keep an eye of your petrol gauge and if the petrol light comes on make sure you put fuel in the car as soon as you can. 

Cars are becoming more like computers so it is no surprise that fewer people than ever are willing to dive under the bonnet of the car when a vehicle breakdown occurs. High-tech devices now control most of a modern cars engines performance, and now a laptop is the only device needed being used as a diagnostic tool instead of a bag of tools and a torch.

It seems a lot safer and quicker to call for breakdown assistance instead of trying to tackle the complicated modern engines ourselves. Another reason to take out breakdown cover is as the use of satellite navigation and multi-changing CD players increases – so does the second most common reason for calling out breakdown assistance – flat batteries.

Also on the rise are call outs for cars that won’t start because the immobilizer has been activated, either by accident or through driver error, and call outs to drivers who’ve locked themselves out of their cars. The two fastest growing reasons for breakdown assistance calls are immobilizer issues and being locked out of cars. Whether you’re locked out, stranded by the roadside or stuck at home with a car that just won’t start, if you’ve bought breakdown cover, you’ve no need to worry. Just pick up the phone.

Broken down vehicles can sometimes lead to horror stories that have been the result of a broken down vehicle being in a dangerous place, broken down vehicles at the side of the road run the risk of being hit by passing traffic, is the simple act of changing a flat tyre on a motorway hard shoulder worth risking loosing your life?

We’ve all heard the motoring horror stories that have resulted from broken down vehicles being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are many cases of stricken vehicles on the side of the road being hit by passing traffic. For some the simple act of changing a flat tyre on a motorway hard shoulder has ended tragically.

When you choose to take out breakdown cover you have access to a vehicle rescue and recovery service experienced in safe roadside assistance. Your safety and the safety of your passengers and other road users is their priority. If your vehicle has broken down in a dangerous location, such as at a blind corner or on the side of a busy stretch of fast road, the breakdown patrol unit will know what to do to make the situation as safe as possible for all concerned.

When you buy breakdown cover you get an experienced organization that not only knows how to fix your vehicle and get you to your destination with the minimum of fuss, but an organization that makes your safety their priority. 

Statistics from the UK’s leading breakdown cover providers have shown that Britain’s vehicle breakdown services are called into action on an average 20,000 times each day. The most common reasons for the calls outs are flat batteries, punctured tyres and general engine troubles.

A high percentage of these breakdown issues are resolved at the roadside by the patrol cars and emergency repair success rates have risen by 85% for many of the UK’s breakdown service providers. This means that a high majority of drivers who break down and then call for roadside assistance are back on the road in their own vehicles without suffering a delay and can back on their journey trouble-free.

If your vehicle cannot be repaired by the roadside a tow to the nearest repair centre will be included as standard. More flexibility can be provided by buying breakdown cover which includes full vehicle recovery to your home address or your local garage, also you can add options which cover the cost of a replacement vehicle and emergency accommodation if it is needed as a result of a breakdown. This is a full service option that provides complete peace of mind every time you go out onto the roads.