Breakdown cover

Roadside assistance and breakdown coverage are services that assist motorists, or bicyclists, whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that leaves the operator stranded.

Early motorists were often capable of carrying out minor repairs themselves, but as automobiles became more complicated, this become more difficult to carry out successfully. Some early local motoring clubs tried to support their members by encouraging them to help each other. A rota of members who would help other members was kept and in some cases, cash was put aside to hire a tow vehicle if needed.

In the UK, the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) (formed in 1897) and The Automobile Association (AA) (formed in 1905) offering repair services to their members on the spot, or a tow to a local garage or the driver's home if nearby (in all cases a limit of 20 miles).

The Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club in Germany began to offer a similar service in 1927. The American Automobile Association (AAA) was formed in 1902 and later merged with its Canadian company, the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). Many of these associations are membership-based clubs and provide services to assist members through the use of fleet assistance vehicles. In the case of the UK AA, these were traditionally motorcycle-mounted prior to the introduction of vans.

When communication technology and availability made it practical, a network of emergency phone boxes, placed at intervals by the roadside, was introduced in some countries. In recent years, the widespread ownership of mobile phones has, to a large degree, supplanted the need for an emergency phone network. Mobile technology has led to the development of free applications (apps) such as Charlie24.com, Cavalry and RoadGuard.nl in Europe, and Urgent.ly and Honk in North America, which both offer on-demand roadside assistance from a network of tow truck operators and garages.

In some areas, especially in Europe, there is a government-sponsored or -sanctioned automobile membership association, and the service may be in the form of an insurance policy with premiums, instead of a member subscription fee.

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Wikipedia