Waiting times for people broken down and requiring a tow will now be slashed by almost one hour with the NRMA rolling out new patrol vans that can also tow a vehicle, helping to reduce congestion and getting people back on the road faster.
The announcement of the new vans coincides with new research by the NRMA, which shows that of the 1.2 million breakdowns tended to by the NRMA last year, one-in-four were vehicles aged 11 years or older and one-in-five vehicles were aged 10 years or younger.
The average age of the Australian light vehicle fleet is 10 years.
Historically, motorists broken down would be tended to by an NRMA patrolman. In 93 per cent of cases the NRMA would fix the vehicle on the side of the road. However, the remaining seven per cent would be required to wait for a tow truck.
To address this, the NRMA has invested in technology that enables patrols to get to Members, replace batteries and tow the vehicle if necessary. The vans can two up to 80 per cent of popular vehicles on the road. One hundred Mercedes Benz vans will be rolled out between now and the end of financial year. The current fleet of vans are saving Members 51 minutes of waiting time.
