Roadside Assistance Services

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The coolest thing about the auto industry is all the parallel providers and smaller industries that have emerged to support it. At first cars were for the uber-wealthy. They were expensive to manufacture, and as such the price tag was high. Once folks started to buy, demand increased and the industry transformed, scaling and capitalizing on comparative advantages by both region and country. The car simply transformed the way we move and interact, and roads became vital thoroughfares in the larger auto world.

One of the most nerve-racking things that can happen in life is breaking down while driving. Forget the part of literally feeling your car beginning to stall, or worse yet, blowing a tire and having to navigate safely to the side of the road. It’s not at all enjoyable, but worse yet is then having to figure out who is going to get you out of this bind and when. At the dawn of the 20th century roughly 23,000 cars were in circulation. Compare this with 17 million horses and 23,000 suddenly sounds quite small. But even more interesting, for 23,000 cars, there were approximately 50 motor clubs formed at the time and in 1902 they joined to form the American Automobile Association (AAA) in Chicago, Illinois.

Quite possibly the first roadside assistance company, AAA has dedicated its efforts over the years to supporting safe highway policies and contributing to the discourse of the future of transportation. Imagine for a second the state of the nation’s highways in 1902. There were 17 million horses about, so early roads were not designed with the car in mind, but rather the horse and buggy. Roads were dirt paths, full of obstacles that made it tough to navigate care-free in a car. As cars became more prevalent, accidents and breakdowns inevitably occurred. AAA began to offer rudimentary roadside assistance which blossomed over time into a comprehensive suite of services that are designed to accomplish one thing – put the driver and passengers at ease during difficult times.

Roadside assistance today is provided by a range of entities. There is a list of services that most offer, and leading that list is towing. Many cars cannot simply be kicked back into working shape after a breakdown or an accident. Towing is typically needed so nearly every roadside assistance service will offer to tow your car a set (limited) number of miles to a mechanic. If you need your car towed further, they will have set rates for that service. Next is battery jump-starting. You’re lucky if your car doesn’t need to be towed, but if that’s the case, it's likely it will need a jump-start. This is one of the easiest things to accomplish, and again, lucky you if this is all that’s needed.

Third are flat tire services which will either repair or help with a tire change. This can normally be done by the driver but in the more extreme cases it’s a nice perk to count on. Fuel delivery and lockout service are the final services that you’ll get with a roadside assistance service. Shame on you for running out of fuel or locking your keys in your car. But you won’t be laughed at or made to feel shameful, leave that to your family and friends, but not your roadside assistance service company.