A History of Vehicle Recovery in the UK
In the good old days motorists were mostly capable of performing minor car repairs themselves, but with automobiles that became more and more complicated to repair, this task become harder.
Some of the early motoring clubs encouraged members to help each other out. Willing members were put on a rota of who will help out when, and some clubs kept some cash aside to pay for a tow vehicle when needed.
In 1900 some motoring clubs became large enough to be able to offer roadside assistance to their members. In the UK, they consisted of the Royal Automobile Club and The Automobile Association. They tried to limit services to repairs where possible, or a tow home or to the local garage. During the fifties, both institutions installed radios to help them dispatch patrols straight from their position to the incident.
Before this invention, patrols had to go to a Patrol Box and phone in to the office to hear if there were any jobs! In the early seventies Recovery clubs became popular. They offered a service that would get people home from anywhere in the United Kingdom. They started something new by offering to cover motorists who had an accident.
Unlike the AA and others, the club hired recovery operators as agents. They selected these agents from the best coachworks and garages. The club’s inspectors carried out regular inspections of the facilities and equipment. It was not long before the AA and the RAC decided to offer similar services to get people home.
