AA asks members to only request roadside assistance if it's urgent after busiest day on record

April 28, 2020
General manager of AA Roadside Solutions Bashir Khan shares his tips.

The AA is asking its members to only request roadside assistance if it's urgent following what is shaping up to be its busiest day on record.

AA Roadservice typically attends to 1200 callouts for breakdown assistance over 24 hours but it had already attended to more than 1500 callouts by 4pm today, the AA said in a statement. 

Eighty per cent of the callouts were battery-related, the AA said. 

“By midnight tonight, we’re expecting to have attended between 1700 and 1800 jobs; that would make it a record-breaking day,” AA Roadside Solutions general manager Bashir Khan said.

“We were expecting the start of Alert Level 3 to be busy as more Kiwis return to work, but we’ve had unparalleled demand from early this morning.”

AA Roadservice's call system was overwhelmed this morning, with staff currently working through a backlog of requests sent out via the app.

“We want to thank members who have already requested assistance for their patience as we take longer than normal to respond to their requests,” Mr Khan said.

“We ask members who are thinking of calling us for assistance for a non-urgent issue to please delay requesting assistance.

“We’ve pulled in all extra resources we possibly can on the road and to support our Contact Centre, and are doing everything we can to assist members around the country.”

The AA Battery Service said to avoid battery failure, people should:

  • Start their engine for 30 minutes at least once a week
  • Ensure the battery is topped up and the engine oil and coolant are circulated
  • Reverse your car into your driveway or leave the garage door open and put it in park
  • Use a mantenance charger, also known as a trickle or float, to charge your battery if you have one
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