Whats it like to be an AA/RAC Patrol man?

Aug 10, 2003 46 Replies

In message , Conor writes

No kidding! That was my point from the outset! And you'd have to be barmy to change an offside wheel without protection, wouldn't you?

I think I should point out that it was you who originally posted that changing a wheel was a waste of the AA and RAC's time. By the same logic, hanging around while you change your wheel is a waste of police time too. So I'll ask again: Whose time would you rather waste?

I had a chat with some AA men when my car was being 'transported' home. You can spend a LOT of time driving. They will send you to do any job if you are still able to return home within your shift hours. (Worst case - I guess - 4 hrs drive to incident, fix, 4 hrs drive home) It did sound as though you could pick and choose WHEN you wanted to work. In some ways it sounded like they were self-employed. I believe the ones who do roadside repairs are paid more than the ones who only transport vehicles (using flatbed trucks)

HTH Cheers PJ

No, did you miss the part about phoning the Police?

Should she really be driving then?

"Chris Ward" mumbled:

Why on earth not? She's fine with large motor skills like steering and pedals and things, and has power steering electric everything and an automatic...but fine motor stuff like putting a nut on a thread and anything involving lots of effort are beyond her.

Anyway, the bods at the mobility advice centre in Banstead assessed her as OK and the DSA let her take a test which she passed first time [1] so I can't see there's a problem.

Have you ever been in a fully adapted car? Amazing things available like foot steering, ring controls on the wheel for people with no feet, push pull hand controls, full fly-by-wire joystick steering/speed control, voice control electrics etc. Before I left my old firm we specified a minibus (which has now turned up and is in frequent use) which is totally wheelchair accessible in the sense that a wheelchair user can use it with no able-bodied assistance...provided no one's boxed in the back doors. You press the remote on the keyfob and the doors open, another button and the lift deploys etc. Auto gearbox with hand controls and so on. Clever stuff. The local wheelchair basketball team now get around without having to have someone else to drive 'em.

[1] Well, almost. She didn't get in the car first time 'cos her eyesight prescription had changed rather a lot in the year it took to learn to drive and she couldn't read the numberplate!

In article , Guy King writes

Well if those figures are accurate, you're around ten times more likely to be killed on the carriageway than on the hard shoulder.

Now take into account the fact that you probably spend less than

1/1000th of your time on the hard shoulder (I've spent about 5 hours there in well over 5000 hours of driving) and the figures read quite differently. For every minute that you spend on the hard shoulder, you are at least 100 times more likely to be killed than spending a minute driving on the carriageway.

To look at it another way, half an hour on the hard shoulder carries the same risk as more than 50 hours of normal driving. Assuming that a driver averages two hours a day on the road, that's more than three weeks worth of risk in the space of 30 minutes!

See? You can prove anything with statistics !

yea but you havent been killed yet...

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