September/October Issue 63 - Flipbook - Page 13
NEWS
MEMBERS’ VIEWS: ELECTRIC AND HYBRID VEHICLES
Got an opinion to share about
an article featured in AVRO
News? We want to hear it!
If you’d like to tell us your
‘Members’ Views’ email Sara at
sara@avrouk.com
I have just read your latest
article in AVRO News in relation
to electric and hybrid vehicles
and liked the questions and
points that you raised.
Having worked for the Boarhunt
name for the past 36 years, 34
of those in recovery, I have seen
many changes, as will you have,
to the recovery industry. The
evolution of cars over the years
has been quite astronomical
and in todays world there are
increasingly few straight forward
recoveries.
The support and help received
from Breakdown clubs or Recovery
Assistance Organisations as they
now like to be known is in my
opinion possibly the lowest that it
has ever been.
Looking at the standard callout
and mileage rate, this has risen
very little over the past 10-15
years, but expectations are so
much higher. When electric
handbrakes and 4x4’s became the
norm, recoveries of these disabled
vehicles started to get more and
more frequent and involved, but
you did have a little added bonus
that you could claim for skates or
slipperies.
Clubs then realised that they
were paying out too much and
started inserting ‘slipperies are
part of normal recovery practice’,
meaning that this charge could not
be claimed.
Skates, if authorised had to
include photos and then only for
certain jobs.
This was all very well and good,
apart from the fact that the
operator had to outlay £80 per set,
across a fleet of 25 rescue and
recovery vehicles, that’s an added
£2000.00 to find.
By the time that you take wages,
fuel, truck wear and tear into
account, some jobs you are
lucky to make £7.50 profit, that’s
over 250 jobs just to pay for your
slipperies, not taking into account
those that get lost or broken.
Add to that the standard
equipment that is required in the
way of straps, brothers, secondary
safety straps, wire bonds, bike
straps and recovery frames and
suddenly you run into thousands
of jobs to turn a profit.
Then you can add in IVR and
specialist training that all staff
are required to have, as well as
massive liability insurances and
ISO accreditation and an average
of about £80k for a new vehicle
and you start to wonder why you
are still involved in the industry,
for me the reason is I love it, but
that love is gradually being eaten
away.
My thoughts are that very little
financial benefit will be gained
from recoveries involving fully
electric or hybrid cars and vans.
Jobs will take far longer than
before, staff training costs will
rocket and it will be the VRO that
is left to carry the cost.
In my opinion, the only people
that will suffer are the VRO’s
and staff as well as the member
as they purchase a £60 per year
breakdown policy when they get
their shopping or visit their bank
and will expect the earth as this is
how the policy is sold.
Green Flag currently advertise to
guarantee to beat any RAC or AA
quote, how can this be right when
the service being offered is so
specialist. What will also happen,
in my opinion, will be another
dramatic rise is people buying
recovery trucks and starting
up on their own, no premises,
poorly maintained equipment, no
industry training and under cutting
any local company that tries its
very best to maintain high industry
standards.
I hope that I am wrong on these
points, but having been involved
in the industry for so long I don’t
think I will be, and having read
your article, that is the impression
that I get from you as well.
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