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Safety rules leave motorists who need help high and dry
But now rescue organisations, who normally offer a guarantee of a lift home in the event of a breakdown, are leaving drivers stranded at service stations following the introduction of EU health and safety laws.
- By Ben Leach, The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2008
- Published: 23:35 June 1, 2008
London: For motorists they offer peace of mind and the prospect of a helping hand when things go wrong.
But now rescue organisations, who normally offer a guarantee of a lift home in the event of a breakdown, are leaving drivers stranded at service stations following the introduction of EU health and safety laws.
The new rules forbid drivers of commercial vehicles, including rescue tow trucks, from travelling more than 62 miles (100km) from their bases unless the vehicle is fitted with a tachograph - a device that monitors the number of hours spent on the road. Both the AA and RAC - the UK's two largest Breakdown services - use hundreds of trucks which are not fitted with the equipment.
As a result, they are dropping off "rescued" drivers when only part-way home, and telling them to wait for another truck to take them on the next leg of their trip. Michael and Olga Leapman fell victim to the new rule recently when they broke down near Chepstow, south Wales.
The couple were picked up by the AA and driven to Leigh Delamere service station, on the M4, near Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Long wait
They were then picked up by a second driver and taken to another service station on the M4, near Reading. They waited an hour and a half before a third driver arrived to take them home to Stockwell, south London. The whole journey took more than nine hours.
Mr and Mrs Leapman, who are long-standing AA members, were even charged £230 (Dh1,702) for the rescue because their cover only entitled them to repairs by the roadside or at home. Mr Leapman, 70, said: "It was rather an ordeal. What should have been a three-hour journey turned into a nine-hour journey. "We kept being dropped off in different service stations. It wasn't a pleasant experience. The AA drivers kept apologising, saying they wished they could get us home quicker but they couldn't because they were bound by these rules."
The new rules, which follow the introduction of EU legislation last year, apply to lorries and vans weighing more than 3.5 tonnes.
Breakdown companies had thought they were exempt from the rules but, following a complaint from the GMB trade union, the Department for Transport has ordered them to comply.
Nigel Humphries, of the Association of British Drivers, said: "It is a ridiculous situation and yet another example of health and safety legislation being taken too far. There is no common sense or balance to these laws." Daniel Hannan, the Conservative MEP, said: "This is a classic example of a piece of EU legislation being introduced without any thought for the practical consequences.
A spokesman for the AA said: "For those members who require a long distance recovery, the legislation does sometimes affect its duration, as additional changeovers are required."
This is a classic example of a piece of EU legislation being introduced without any thought for the practical consequences."
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