11 Aug 2020
Posted by Barry Aldworth 
An increase in Irish people holidaying at home has led to a spike in motoring breakdowns on Irish roads, with AA Ireland warning those planning a staycation of the importance of carrying out key safety checks of their car before the leave.
Despite significant reductions in the number of overseas visitors, traffic levels on many major routes across Ireland over the August Bank Holiday and the subsequent days was at over 90% of levels seen in August of 2019. In addition, many routes saw traffic levels double compare to the last bank holiday in June of this year.
In line with the significant growth in traffic volumes, the AA has attended to a daily average of almost 300 breakdowns per day in the first 10 days of August, with Monday August 10 seeing the AA attend to almost 350 breakdowns across the country. With many more households planning to take to the roads and holiday at home in the coming weeks, the AA expects that this number could continue to rise and is encouraging motorists to carry out some basic checks of their vehicles before leaving for their holiday.
“No-one wants to have their holiday delayed or significantly hindered by a motoring breakdown, but the reality is that our patrols are seeing a significant growth in breakdown numbers nationwide as people opt to holiday at home this year. For many people, this is likely to be the first lengthy journey that their car may have done in 2020, and after a long period of reduced usage, there is an increased risk of issues with batteries, tyres, and even your car’s engine,” Conor Faughnan AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “While our team are available to help nationwide, setting a few minutes aside before you leave home to check the condition of your tyres or even asking a mechanic to check the health of your battery and engine could help you to avoid a significant delay to the start of your holiday.”
The AA app is now the quickest way for Members to report a breakdown and allows users to track their Patrol’s arrival on their smartphone – even on Christmas Day. The new app also contains to-the-minute Roadwatch updates for all traffic routes.
