If you take your car to Europe this autumn, hopefully everything will go according to plan and you’ll have a great time.
If the worst happens and your car suffers a breakdown, don’t worry.
Normally, you just phone your breakdown company and wait in a safe place until help arrives. If you’re on a French motorway it’s usually best to call 120 on your mobile phone or find the nearest emergency telephone. You'll have to pay a fee for a repair or tow from one of the authorised recovery companies, but you can reclaim this from your European breakdown cover.
If you have a good level of cover everything will be taken care of, including alternative transport if your car can’t be repaired right away.
What’s that? You didn’t arrange European breakdown cover before you left home?
Unfortunately, you now have an expensive problem. The bill for roadside assistance if you break down on a French motorway, for example, will be over €120 as a minimum. If you need a hire car while yours is being repaired or, worse still needs shipping back to the UK, your bill could run into four figures very easily.
The cost of European Breakdown cover with Trusted Bear is tiny by comparison.
European Breakdown Safety Tips
Assuming you have cover and called the breakdown hotline, there are still a few important things to remember.
If you’re on a motorway and you think your car is developing a fault, it’s a good idea to leave at the next exit and find a safe place to stop.
Get yourself and your passengers out of the vehicle quickly (before you even call your breakdown company). Stand well away from your car and behind a safety barrier if possible. Make sure everyone leaves through the right hand doors (‘Go Left’ doesn’t apply on the continent).
You should have hi-vis waistcoats in your car, so make sure you all wear one if you stop at the roadside. These should always be easy to ‘grab and go’ in an emergency.
The other important thing (as with driving anywhere) is to be prepared:
- Have a hat or something to shade you readily available if you’re likely to be standing in direct sunlight.
- Have something warm or waterproof if the weather isn’t so good.
- Drinks and snacks are also a good idea if you’re going to have to wait around while your car is repaired.
If you’re taking the car abroad this autumn, have a great time. Take a look at our European cover options well before you go so you have the reassurance that a breakdown won’t spoil the holiday.
To find out more about how Trusted Bear can support you on your journey, go to our Products page to find out more.