In fact these figures equate to 10% of all drivers on the road in the UK called out the AA to help them with a breakdown. As usual the most popular call out problem was a flat battery, although down in quantity on the previous year, but with an increase in punctures.

Then we hear of 2482 children locked in their cars as well as the 832 pets. It was no surprise that the return to work after Christmas was the busiest day in 1022, on Jan 4th to be exact, snow still on the road, and of course Mondays are the busiest days, when vehicles have been left standing over the weekend.

Then the strange call outs, from the squirrel that filler the air filter box with nuts already reported on our blog and then the 7ft Boa Constructor behind the dashboard. Its no wonder why we like AA breakdown cover in our wallets just in case strange things like this happen to us. Something to think about, if the AA handled callouts for 1 in 10 drivers in the UK, when you combine all the breakdown cover services together, how many of us needed this service last year. mmm Worth thinking about.

Christmas tends to be a time where cars are left or just not looked after, with the expectation that everything will be OK on its first journey for a while. Although the AA, did expect to to be quieter than last year when the UK suffered record breaking snowfall and low temperatures.

A recommendation was to drive the car before Wednesday to charge up batteries and other issues that may occur on the return to work. With AA breakdown cover, the organisation is prepared for this upturn on call outs, but a bit of pre-thought can save the inconvenience of a breakdown, just as all the festivities have ended. Lets start the new year as we intend to go on, with reliable well looked after cars.

It was Christmas eve and the person on the phone contacted the local patrolman, who agreed they would tow the car back home, if the owners could wait an hour or so (the owners were back at home as the vehicle was so close). The AA breakdown cover patrolman would ring just before attending the vehicle.

He did and the owners arrived at the car, which was then towed back home with no extra charge, a good service. But during the phone call and the arrival of the patrolman, the charge to deal with a miss-fuel at the roadside was £160. In short in questioned whether getting the car home was part of the relay service, and it may have been because it was Christmas and the car was so close to home, the in this car the AA helped the driver out.

It maybe that the AA will help all drivers whatever they want to do, but the refuel service was pushed a bit and maybe it would have been easier just to pay the money, than trying to fix the problem on the drive, but there was a question mark of how far the relay service will go for mistakes that are made by the driver and clearly cost the AA to put right.

It achieved a 80% satisfaction score , deemed as best in the industry.

Steve Dewey from the AA stated that they make substantial investment in training and equipment to deliver the best possible service.

The AA also delivers car make branded breakdown cover, this survey and award included those policies.  Awards like this offered from a trusted and recognised source such as “Which”, can give confidence when buying AA breakdown cover, especially as the information came from over 7300 drivers.

The top result relates to tyres, either flat or damaged, then it is the old car battery thing, most likely flat batteries. Starter motors and alternators come next until we start to see something a bit more serious, the clutch.

The final reason on this top 10 breakdown call outs, is the cylinder head gasket, with equated to 7000 call outs during the summer. The AA state that up to half of breakdowns could have been avoided with correct maintenance.

Some advice is also offered in this news item to help you avoid being one of these statistics. Even if you do have an AA breakdown cover policy, there still will be some inconvenience waiting for a dedicated patrol. Most can be repaired by the roadside, but better to be safe than sorry.

The AA have discovered that 12% of drivers would not stop no matter what, although when this information is broken down, only 10% of over 65’s would definitely not stop  where 18% of women and 16% of under 25’s wouldn’t.

It is not just about ages, but also where you live with Londoners being the worst when it comes to Samaritan help, where Scotland, North East and Northern Ireland the most likely to stop.

The main reason for not stopping is deemed to be personal safety with many drivers believing that most people would now have a mobile phone and would make that necessary phone call. It is interesting how older drivers are more likely to stop, even though they could be the demographic with the greatest chance of being a victim of a con trick.

Of course purchasing an AA breakdown cover policy, is one way to be assured that there will be someone stopping to assist you no matter where you are, that will be a good Samaritan.

Lets start with the figures being quoted here.

The AA claim that last year and average call out fee would be over £172, compared with their roadside assistance policy which could have been bought online for £28. Then when you factor in 12% of drivers will in fact breakdown, they you can see how the comparison to roulette comes in.

There are more distressing figures in that the call out garages would only have fixed 24% of vehicles by the road, compared with the AA’s impressive record of around 80%, which of course saves stress and inconvenience and lets be honest probably contributes to the average 3172 bill.

When you consider that around a third of breakdowns are simple things like batteries or tyres you may have to ask why more call out garages cant fix more by the roadside, maybe that is not their priority. Again the AA called for more maintenance on your vehicle to prevent car breakdowns  in the first place.

A poll of AA members revealed that 81% believe roads have deteriorated considerably in the last three years.

Only 1% of aa breakdown cover members thought that road conditions had improved, AA President Edmund King said:

We have to keep up the battle against this blight which damages cars and risks road safety, especially for those on two wheels.

"An emergency pothole fund is urgently needed to help cash-strapped local authorities to patch up the roads. However a more coherent maintenance strategy and long term increased funding is required to stop the rot."

When broken down by region Scotland, Yorkshire & Humberside and the North West had worst public opinion on road. 92% of drivers in Scotland said that they thought roads had definitely declined in condition.

Londoner’s were the happiest with their roads however 74% of motorists still said they had noticed deterioration. 

Repairs to road however may be a long time coming as figures have shown that a number of councils have reported reductions in their road maintenance budget. Of the 20 councils surveyed 8 have revealed they are cutting funding for repairs.

Recovery firms have also logged a 25% increase in the number of call outs as a result of potholes or damage to highways. Wheel and tyre damage was the most common damage reported.

The poll comes 6 months after a harsh winter with the government pledged £100 million extra funding for road repairs, however estimated have shown that the total cost to repair all of the damage to Britain’s roads would be around £9 billion.

The average motorist will save £300 a year thanks to rewards and offers sent out to members who have aa breakdown cover with the firm.

Membership is automatic when you join the AA for vehicle insurance or breakdown cover and is valid for the entire duration of your policy.

Competitions are also ran regularly and give members the chance to dine at the chef’s table in a Michelin Star restaurant before taking in the view at the City of Manchester Stadium in a Manchester City VIP match package.

It might seem like it’s worth joining just for the perks but primarily you receive second to none breakdown cover at a reasonable price from the firm that has been helping British motorists for well over 100 years.

As of 2010 the AA has over 15 million members  and as of 2007 a value of £3.35 billion.Not bad for a group formed by a few London based motoring enthusiasts in 1906.

The new strategic framework requires any driver charged with wilfully dangerous and reckless driving to sit a test before being allowed their license back and pay and increased penalty of up to £100.

Reckless driving cost the AA millions of pounds every year in breakdown recovery both for offenders and victims of the crime. Edmund Kind, president of AA insurance and aa breakdown cover said:  “It has long been a major concern that uninsured drivers are fined less than the cost of the premium they have not paid.

“The AA welcomes the decision to review fines and fixed penalties for this offence and this should help deter the uninsured drivers who add tens of pounds to every legal driver’s premiums.”

Read the full terms of the legislation and the full reaction from The AA at their press centre

AA offer some of the most comprehensive breakdown cover on the market and attend to over 3.5 million breakdowns a year all fixed within 30 minutes. This works out to a vehicle being fixed once every 12 seconds, whatever the weather.

Which? also recently named the firm the best breakdown cover service on the market thanks in part to the release of an application for mobile phones that using GPS technology allows users to submit their precise location when they have broken down