Experiencing a vehicle breakdown can be a stressful and upsetting situation, especially when accident recovery is needed from an isolated location or at the roadside.
For most businesses, having a vehicle involved in a breakdown is extremely costly, with every minute off the road meaning a minute of lost revenue. It has the potential to push back delivery slots, impact driver hours and damage company reputation due to missed deadlines.
Breakdown Statistics
According to 2020 figures from the Department for Transport (DfT), there were approximately 208,000 private cars that broke down on motorways in 2020, and around 140,500 commercial vehicles. When looking at what the average wait time for roadside recovery was in this data, 60 minutes across accessible UK roads was the most recorded time frame.
However, even with this being the 2020 average, some recoveries are deemed more urgent than others, depending on the circumstances. For example, heavy commercial breakdown recovery is incredibly time sensitive, often due to the size of the vehicles obstructing busy roads or the deterioration of any load.
The latest Domestic Road Freight Statistics report highlighted that out of the 485,900 registered HGVs in the UK in 2020, 4% of all goods lifted domestically were declared as dangerous goods. This accounts for 53 million tonnes of assets from flammable liquids such as alcohol (67%) gasses (16%) and corrosive substances (6%).
In situations like this where a vehicle breaks down, urgent recovery is of the upmost importance, not only for the business themselves, but also for the safety of the driver and other road users alike.
In fact, most recoveries experienced in 2020 were much more complicated than simply towing a vehicle to the closest workshop. 76% of all HGV recorded accidents involved navigating motorway standstills and a team to clear debris, and 11% needing recovery from remote locations where the vehicles had become stuck or fallen. Not only do these types of accidents put road users at severe risk, but they also pose potential problems in the physical recovery process too.
Roadside Repairs
Naturally, the first point of call will always be to attempt a repair at the scene, with breakdown assistance services such as Egertons, holding an 87% rate of successful roadside repairs. However, sometimes the level of damage, complexity of the issue or location of the vehicle can make this a struggle.
This is because for the sheer number of vehicle types on the roads, there are even more recovery tools which are needed to help.
For example, cars or light commercial vehicles (LCVs) require different equipment to help get them back up and running, including a mix of Super Low Demountable transporters or rear spectacle lifts. Whereas HGVs could need a mix of low-loader trailers and ancillary tools to aid recovery.
Having these assets accessible means rescue operators can recover any type of vehicle – from motorbikes to large mobile cranes. It also allows them to offer a wider coverage across the country, with some even able to provide complete nationwide coverage to suit all locations.
It’s these points collectively which make it so important to choose a breakdown assistance provider who you can count on to get you moving again as quickly as possible. Anytime, anywhere.
So, how long does a breakdown recovery take?
All recoveries are different, however, one thing that can always be expected, is that we make sure we get your load moving again as soon as possible. Our highly successful triage system allows us to send the correct vehicle the first time; once we’ve received the details of the incident, the vehicle and the load, we will ensure the recovery or repair vehicle is by your side in 45 minutes or less – negating any need for another send out.
How We Can Help…
At Egertons, our 55-year heritage has led us to be one of the UK’s leading vehicle rescue and recovery operators.
Proud to offer a 24/7/365 service across the country from breakdown recovery to specialist assistance, our average attendance time is 43 minutes from leaving our sites to reaching you at the scene, with our customers rating us a 98% satisfaction score.
For us, it’s so important to always invest back into our service, allowing us to grow our fleet and expert team to offer the best service possible, always. And this service starts from the moment you first get in touch with us.
Our sophisticated triage process allows us to deploy the exact right vehicles to a scene first time. This is supported by our 24-hour control room, and having invested in industry leading software, we can seamlessly track the progress of all our vehicles and allocate jobs straight to the recovery technicians.
Combine this process with our 300-strong fleet, vast range of equipment available on hand and the technology it is equipped with, you can rest assured you’re in the best of hands.
But we don’t stop there. We’re not just a vehicle recovery service, we’ll also help deliver your load, your driver and your vehicle to the most appropriate locations to get your day back on track as quickly as possible. Our experts can facilitate drop offs to separate locations, whether it’s the original planned destination, company depot or preferred workshop.
This is because we completely understand that every business and individual have different priorities, and your instructions may be personal preference or business requirement.
In other words, you make the call, and we’ll do the rest.
We’re ready when you are.
Reach out today.