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News & Press Releases
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- £105 fee had not changed for 15 years -
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Further to the news story ABP carried yesterday more details have merged today oin the Mail on Sunday of the increase in fees for towing off the motorway - up to £300 if involved in a crash plus £20 a day storage:
Labour stands accused of a new attack on motorists after quietly introducing a huge rise in fees for removing stranded vehicles from motorways.
Until now, drivers without rescue service cover have paid a flat fee of £105 to have their broken-down cars towed away.
But since last week the cost has soared by 43 per cent to £150.
Motorists involved in crashes will face even larger bills of up to £300 to have their cars recovered.
Last night, motoring groups denounced the 'rip-off' charges and said less well-off drivers unable to afford breakdown cover would be hardest hit.
Nigel Humphries, spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, said: 'It is just a rip-off that doesn't bear any relation to the cost of towing a car off the motorway. A local garage would charge a lot less.'
The charging structure – which has introduced a sliding scale of fees depending on the type and weight of the vehicle – emerged in a Statutory Instrument, a piece of secondary legislation requiring only Ministerial approval.
It was not publicly announced and was laid before Parliament by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on August 5, when MPs were not sitting.
It was brought in after the Department for Transport said earlier this year that it was 'no longer sustainable' for the Highways Agency to rely on police to remove vehicles.
Instead, the agency has awarded FMG Support a three-year, £18million contract to operate a national breakdown service.
FMG, which is based in Huddersfield, said it could not comment - but it is understood the firm will subcontract jobs to breakdown companies and then send motorists the bill.
While the police will still be responsible for recovering vehicles involved in accidents, drivers will be charged more under the new rules.
Kevin Delaney, head of road safety at the IAM Motoring Trust, warned that although the system would be more efficient, it would hit hardest those drivers least able to afford it.
As well as the increased towing fees, the charge for storing a vehicle will rise from £12 a day to £20, a hike of 66 per cent.
Mr Delaney said: 'Unfortunately those who don't have cover are the sort of people who don't have a lot of money and are, therefore, the most likely to break down.'
A spokesman for the Home Office said the £105 fee had not changed since it was introduced 15 years ago.
'It is untrue to say these new fees have been introduced by stealth,' he added. 'We went through the correct parliamentary procedure, which is transparent and in the public domain.'
RHA Rescue - A service for RHA members provided by members
30 September 2008
RHA Rescue is the new rescue and recovery service for members of the Road Haulage Association. It won't break the bank and members will benefit from special rates for roadside assistance and recovery.
Managed by Lantern Recovery Specialists plc, RHA Rescue will cater for all members' vehicles from trucks to private cars, motorcycles and even mobility scooters!
RHA Rescue is a service for members, provided by members. Members of the RHA Rescue and Recovery Group will be given first call on incidents in their area. So, if an RHA member's vehicle breaks down, it will probably be a fellow member that comes to the rescue.
The number for RHA Rescue is 0800 622 756, regardless of whether calling from home or abroad.
"I am delighted that a member of the Association's own Rescue and Recovery Group has been appointed to manage this vital RHA service", said RHA Rescue and Recovery Group Chairman Richard Goddard. "It proves beyond doubt that members can work together, regardless of their specialist sector within the UK transport industry".
RHA Rescue will become known to the Highways Agency and the Police as Owner’s Choice in the event of an incident. RHA members will have the option of using RHA Rescue as their preferred recovery operator and displaying the RHA Rescue sticker in the vehicle's windscreen will assist the Highways Agency and the Police and avoid any unnecessary delays in getting it recovered or back on the road.
Michael Saward Tel.07984457561
www.recoveryvehicles.com
CHANDLER STEWART URGENTLY REQUIRED A VEHICLE TRANSORTER THAT COULD TRANSPORT SPECIALIST CARS QUICKLY AND WITHOUT DAMAGE AND THE NEED OF BLOCKS OF WOoD AND SKATES.RECOVERY VEHICLES CAME UP WITH THE IDEAL SOLUTION.AN ISUZU NQR DAY CAB FITTED WITH AN ALUMINIUM LOW SLIDER BODY.THIS VEHICLE HAS A MASSIVE PAYLOAD OF 3200 KGS.
Isuzu Truck Reshaping Its Roadside Recovery
At the recent RHA Rescue and Recovery Group Business Review seminar, held in Liverpool, leading truck manufacturer Isuzu Truck UK announced plans to reshape its UK roadside recovery operation in line with the introduction of its heavier model range, planned for launch at the Commercial Vehicle Show in April 2008.
In partnership with the Lantern Group, Isuzu Truck UK will be launching Isuzu Assistance next year to complement its current roadside recovery operation.
Announcing details of this change, Nikki King OBE, Managing Director at Isuzu Truck UK said, "Isuzu Assistance will not be handled by a club but will be operated directly with the roadside and recovery industry through Lantern’s experienced call centre. The Isuzu Assistance service will not only use Lanterns call centre and recovery vehicles but will also work with the many large and small independent roadside and recovery companies across the UK."
In Spring 2008, Isuzu Truck (UK) plans to extend its model range going up to 18 tonnes, taking the company from being a niche player in the UK to that of a major commercial vehicle manufacturer. As Nikki King explained to the assembled audience in Liverpool, "Isuzu Truck is now moving into the world of the haulier and we need to provide an industry leading roadside assistance service that competes with the best and complements Isuzu’s unique selling points of customer service and ‘CARE’. Our current service provider does a great job for our customers with our current product range and we trust them to continue to do so. We had to look elsewhere however for support with the introduction of our heavier products. We know that other commercial vehicle manufacturers and major fleet operations will be looking closely at this innovation and believe that the rescue and recovery industry will play a major support role in ensuring that Isuzu Assistance is successful."
Isuzu Truck (UK) and The Lantern Group have developed a strong business relationship over the past few years. In addition to providing this new roadside assistance and recovery operation in 2008, The Lantern Group is also currently responsible for all new Isuzu chassis deliveries to Isuzu agents and customers in the UK.
Isuzu wins orders for new heavies
Isuzu says that it is winning orders for its newly announced 'Forward' range of 11 to 18 tonners. Keith Child, the firm's marketing director says he thinks the industry's 'extraordinarily long order lead times' are working in Isuzu's favour. "We are already taking orders for the new vehicles because we can beat those lead times. To date we have approaching 30 orders 'in the bag' and indeed every one of the vehicles to be on our stand, 6-050 at the CV Show is 'sold'". He says the stand is the biggest the firm has taken at the CV Show, will display seven trucks and has an "even bigger hospitality area from which we can serve our now famous 'bangers and mash' lunch."
More from Keith Child on +44(0)1 920 463 962 or keith.child@isuzutruck.co.uk
http://recoveryegroup.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1582
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- NOW IT'S
THE TIME TO WEIGH IT ALL UP -
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With the sucessful trialling of automatic number
recognition, the vehicle inspectorate plans to introduce sophisticated
weighing equipment that can check a truck's weight without the need
to stop the vehicle. When an overloaded truck drives over plates in
the road, a weighing mechanism will trigger a sensor and the vehicles
registrtion number is captured.
Recovery Operators Be Warned
There are many four wheel heavy recovery vehicles still in use
today and it doesn't take a genius to work out that if a the vehicles
weigh 12 tonnes, its legal lift is about 3-4 tonnes. The same goes
for 7.5 tonne slidebeds, many of which have payloads of less than
2 tonne, particularly if they have a crew cab (check out our Isuzu
section). What will this mean? Well, for a start the prices for these
vehicles will drop dramatically and the market place will be flooded,
so urgent action is needed now to safeguard your investment.
Calculate the maximum
lift within the rear axle design weights
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