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Breakdown assistance


NigT
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Is it correct that on autoroutes it is mandatory to use the autoroute breakdown service to move you off the road before calling your own breakdown company?  Is it neccessary to use the emergency phones or can you call from a mobile?  If it is OK to use a mobile does anyone know the number to call from a UK mobile?

 

Thanks

 

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Last year, I came across some UK bikers at the new Haras service area north of Alencon who had all run out of petrol on the way back from the Le Mans MotoGP (plonkers).

They'd just phoned their Europe Assistance company, only to be told they had to walk to the nearest roadside phone and call the autoroute breakdown people....

 

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We broke down on an autoroute our way home this year and phoned our breakdown company to be told that only the police had the authority to deal with breakdowns on a motorway and that we had to walk to the nearest services or ring them from one of the phones by the roadside.  Once we had done that we could then phone our breakdown company back.  Although, as we were stood by the van a man stopped in a road works truck and we asked him if he would phone the police he said yes and went back to his truck.  A breakdown truck then turned up and we phoned our breakdown company back, he spoke to the man in French and then said that it was OK to fix the van.  I'm sure if you phone your breakdown company before you go then they will tell you what you have to do, and on which roads.  Hope this helps.
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This year, I have broken down twice on autoroutes.  The first time I limped to a service station and was told by my RAC helpline that only an authorised breakdown lorry could get me, which the station organised.  Only when I was off the autoroute could the RAC help me.

The second time, I was in between phone boxes.  When told by the RAC that I had to go to the proper phone book, I said (well, screamed, actually) that I was a woman alone with 4 young children and that it was very dangerous (one car had already nearly swerved into us on the hard shoulder).  They rang the authorised breakdown company themselves.

Have been meaning to get 'chapter and verse' on this because it's bound to happen again - we have a Ford that was clearly made on a Friday afternoon, the number of times it conks out.

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Each section of Autoroute is sold off as a Franchise . A local breakdown company then has the exclusive right to handle all breakdowns on that section.

As part of the deal they have a key that lets them on to the motorway using those little gated slip-roads that are usually occupied by the gendarmes operating in speed trap mode!.

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I posted the following in another thread but reproduce it here as it could be quite relevant to those who have a Telepeage transponder [;-)]

[quote user="ErnieY"]

If you happen to breakdown on the peage and get trailered off then put your doofah somewhere it won't be "seen" at the toll booth otherwise you could get charged.

Makes perfect sense but something you'd probably not think of in a stressful situation [;-)]

[/quote]

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If you have the misfortune to get carted off on the peage on the back of a breakdown truck and your journey home, or garage or wherever, takes you through more peage sections, your doofah will trigger the system and you will get charged just as if you had driven through under your own steam. However, because of the truck's height, you could find yourself charged at the much higher commercial vehicle rate !

I have never personally had such an experience but it does seem logical.

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Ah  but..... If you were to "hide" the box by putting it into it's shielded bag, the system will charge you the longest possible distance in the direction you were heading.  In effect you need to " log off"  the computer otherwise it treats you as a kind of lost ticket.

I know this kind of thing can happen. On one occasion the barrier failed to open at Sainte Maure (Tours) so we were let through manually. We were subsequently charged for a full trip to Bordeaux.

 

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Ah but....your next transaction would be an "on" to the peage not an "off" wouldn't it. Would that throw the system into confusion I wonder or would the fact that you will appear to have been on perhaps a totally different section of peage for hours, days or even weeks be ignored but flagged up for later investigation? At the end of the day there will be a record of where and when you were trailered off so they could tie it up.

Anybody actually experienced it I first hand I wonder. Do the breakdown truck drivers tell you to do anything with your doofah it if they see you have one ?

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