Car breakdowns [sad]

crimson a heartfelt message from you. The AA guy is deserving of your appreciation

Yes we are insulated in our little pods when we go out driving and then suddenly we are out of control when they fail.
My friend broke down on the M1. Took a while to get rescued because the rescuers were dispatched to wrong motorway. The motorway patrol men were very good though.
An important bit of advice was imparted: Yes call on your mobile by all means, but if you call from the motorway-side phones they will know EXACTLY where you are - no chance of misunderstandings. Also you are more likely to get the patrol cars to come and look after you. So it is well worth walking along the hard shoulder to do this. I for one don't always know which junction i have just passed.
Probably if we are going to be sensible we carry a torch and a reflective vest in the car in case of poor visibility. And in the winter a warm coat.

A couple of years ago, we were on our way home from a holiday, and towing a trailer with our daughter`s mobility scooter on it. Coming along the A1 in Yorkshire, travelling towards Newark, Notts, we were a few miles past the Ferrybridge services when the trailer got a puncture. Luckily we were near a petrol station which had a shop, so we limped into there, and used their phone to ring Green Flag, which we`d been a member of for several years. They told us that we weren`t members, and that there was no record that we ever had been! No amount of reasoning would get any response from them, and we were beginning to panic a bit, we didn`t want to drive off and leave the trailer and scooter there, a good couple of hours drive from home. Luckily, an AA man happened to be there, he said that if we joined there and then, at a cost of £30, he could get us sorted, which he proceeded to do, we then followed him to his depot down the road to pay for the new wheel that he`d put on the trailer and then we were on our way again, after about 2 and a half hours stoppage. We will always be grateful to that AA man, and have stayed members ever since. Needless to say, we are now no longer members of Green Flag, although a few days later they did admit to having made a mistake, and refunded all our costs for the incident. Sorry if this has been a bit long winded!

When my car broke down I was with another breakdown company [might have been Green Flag]; they did come out and tow me to a garage, but they didn't have a uniform on and their truck was very anonymous. They did the job, but not in the way that the AA chap did yesterday. During the course of the day my partner asked a passing RAC man for advice, and he was helpful also, even though we obviously weren't members.I was thinking afterwards that I always try to help people as much as I possibly can and, just recently, quite a few people have helped me in ways above and beyond the call of duty. Makes you feel good about people in general, does it not? Nice karma.

It's so nice to read all the lovely comments about AA men....my late husband was an AA man during the early years of our marriage and a good friend worked for them all his working life. Some people were very appreciative of all my DH tried to do to get them back on the road but not all. Some people were extremely rude and angry and all my DH could do was smile and get on with his job. So thank you.

I'm sure, as you say, a lot of people appreciated your late husbands kindness, lucid, and that's something to be really proud of.