Our Patrols rescue them every day!
In a fun look back on 2013, we can share that our Patrols were called out to a mum stranded in her PJs at least once a day last year. Even more comically it’s been happening a bit more often lately thanks to these wonderful wet and windy mornings we’ve been having of late.
“It can be pretty funny.” laughs AA Patrol, Dave Costello. “The mums we meet on the school run are usually mortified. But we’ve seen a lot scarier; last year we rescued both bat man and a clown from the side of the road!”
In addition to Mammas in their Pyjamas, the recent gales have also brought about some more unusual call outs for our Patrols.
“I was called to one Member whose car became wedged under the branch of a tree in her front garden after the high winds. She was under pressure to get her daughter to a hospital appointment and handed me a chain saw when I arrived. Not one of my regular tools!” Says Costello “I promptly handed her back the chainsaw and took out a match stick to push in the valve to deflate the tyres then rolled the car backwards. It was as simple as that!”
On a more serious note, the recent storms have led to a slew of breakdown jobs for our Patrols involving flood damaged vehicles. We’ve also had lots of jobs involving cars stuck in muddy fields and gardens.
“Last week we had Members sobbing in our roadside rescue vans as they learnt that the extent of the damage the flood water has done to their cars.” Says Costello. “For some the flood water was near impossible to avoid but for others they simply didn’t know the impact it would have on their car.”
As always we urge all motorist to think carefully before driving through flood water and to consider the depth, the underlying surface and how fluid the water is. Vehicles can quickly become unstable in moving water – 12 inches of water moving at only 10kmph is enough to float the average family saloon.
Another thing to watch out for during cold weather are animals, cats in particular, taking shelter and getting stuck under the bonnet and other parts of cars.
“One recent example of this comes to mind.” Says Costello. “A Member called us out as a tiny kitten was stuck in the suspension of his car and he couldn’t coax it out. We were able to jack up the wheel and get the poor little thing out safe and sound.”