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5 Steps to Take When You Break Down

March 4, 2016 by Best Roadside Service

Breaking down on the side of the road or running into an emergency issue such as a flat tire can be dangerous. Whether you’re in the middle of a busy highway or on a deserted stretch of road, there are safety precautions that you should always take when dealing with roadside car trouble. Being prepared for these situations in advance can drastically reduce the potential dangers to you and your passengers, so read on for the steps you should take before, during and after a roadside emergency.

Get off the road
The first step to safely dealing with car trouble is to get out of the path of traffic. The biggest dangers to you in this situation are other cars, so get off the road, onto a shoulder or off the highway in a safe place. If you absolutely cannot get out of the road and are broken down in a driving lane, turn your flashers on until your roadside assistance company, the police or a tow truck is there to help.

Exit Safely
Staying in the vehicle increases your chance of being in a crash. If possible, exit the vehicle and stand safely off the road until help has arrived. When exiting your vehicle, exit on the passenger side of the car – the side closest to the shoulder, so that you are not exiting your car into the flow the traffic. Before you leave the car, remember to turn the wheel away from the road and put your emergency break on, especially if you are on any kind of incline. However, use your best judgement here. If it seems too risky to exit your car because of traffic or space, then stay in your car with your seatbelt fastened and flashers on until help has arrived.

Be prepared with flares
Once you’ve safely removed your vehicle from the roadway, use road flares to alert other drivers and emergency or assistance vehicles of your location. Road flares help other drivers see your vehicle on the side of the road so they can safely avoid you by changing lanes or giving you more room on the shoulder. Use two flares to prepare drivers for your car’s presence. Place one a couple hundred feet behind your car in the shoulder or hazard lane, then another one closer to the back of your vehicle. By being prepared and having road flares in your car’s emergency pack, you can help other drivers stay safe, as well as you and your passengers.

Call for Help
Once you are safely off the road and have done your best to alert other drivers of your presence, call your emergency roadside assistance service immediately. Roadside assistance can provide a tow truck, someone to change out a flat tire, or in the case of a service such as Best Roadside Service, technicians will even deliver fluids or gasoline, depending on what is needed. The best way to be prepared for a roadside emergency is to invest in roadside assistance.

In addition to helping you get out of a bind, purchasing an emergency roadside service plan can actually save you money in the long term, as tow trucks or repair companies may charge more for one service call than you would pay for an entire year of roadside assistance.

Let the Professionals Take it From There
Once the roadside technician has arrived, don’t attempt to help them. They are professionals and they know what they are doing and how to safely maneuver around a vehicle with traffic and other impediments. “Helping” them will slow down the process and potentially get you hurt. Once they have arrived, they can either get your car back up and running or safely deliver you and your vehicle to the closest repair shop.

Breaking down is never convenient and always stressful, but if you follow these steps and are prepared with flares and a roadside assistance service, a breakdown doesn’t have to ruin your day or worse – cause you or your family any harm.

Credit Card Companies Drop Roadside Assistance Coverage

December 15, 2015 by Best Roadside Service

Many people do not know that their credit card companies may provide additional services beyond loaning money for purchases.

In fact, several credit card companies offer services through third party providers for things such as identity theft, travel planning and even roadside assistance. These services are not always marketed to credit card customers very well, and J.D. Power & Associates reports that only about 2/3 of people are even aware of their benefits, and even fewer people are using their credit cards to their full advantage. For this reason, many credit card companies are dropping extra benefits from their cardholder agreements.

In August 2015, Discover issued a new cardholder agreement that stated they intend to “simplify the suite of cardmember benefits that it provides by eliminating certain benefits in order to provide a better customer experience.” What this really means is that they are eliminating benefits to save themselves money. With recent laws in effect that restrict credit card companies on the kind of late fees and interest rates they can charge, many lenders are looking at cutting cardholder benefits and other services to save money and help their bottom line.

In fact, Sears MasterCard recently dropped its rental car collision coverage, travel assistance and roadside assistance benefits, and Bank of America is discontinuing its roadside and travel assistance benefits for its MasterCard Better Balance Rewards cardholders as well. With these heavy hitters leading the pack, it’s a logical assumption that other credit card companies will be following their lead and dropping third party services for their cardholders as well. So whether or not you have one of these cards listed above, you should start looking around for another provider for these services.

Even if you do plan to continue using your credit card company’s services, keep in mind that most credit card companies still charge their cardholders a fee to use their roadside assistance and these fees can run up to $70 per call. At that price, you should consider going with Best Roadside Service’s roadside assistance plan. In fact, a year of roadside assistance with Best Roadside Service, which includes up to 6 calls per year, only costs between $65-$80 depending on the plan chosen. Additionally, Best Roadside Service offers travel assistance, travel concierge services, travel discounts, coupons, a 24-hour emergency hotline, discounts at national automotive maintenance shops and more. Your discounts from these partners might just pay for your annual membership! You don’t have to have a particular credit card to have these services and you don’t have to pay a crazy interest rate to earn them. Individual plans are less than $80/year and vehicle plans are just $65 annually.

Why Choose Best Roadside Service

Going with a company that specializes in roadside assistance is also the only way to ensure you get the best and fastest service. Credit card companies are essentially playing the middle man to their cardholders – creating an additional step and costing the customer more time when they do need help on the side of the road. Best Roadside Service, on the other hand, has an average response time of just 34 minutes. And their service providers respond to over 70,000 calls per month. In the last 50 years, Best Roadside Service has unlocked over 170,000 doors, changed over 340,000 flat tires, towed over 6.8 million miles and delivered over 60,000 gallons of fuel!

But not all roadside assistance plans and providers are created equal. Whether you want to purchase a plan for a particular vehicle, no matter who is driving it, or a plan for an individual, no matter what vehicle they are driving – you’ll want to compare plans, and go with a Better Business Bureau A+ rated company that has been providing roadside service for over 50 years to consumers just like you.

The bottom line is that your credit card company is more concerned with their bottom line than customer perks and benefits. Ditch the middle man, and purchase an independent roadside assistance plan for you and your family from Best Roadside Service!

Give A College Student the Gift of Roadside Assistance

August 11, 2015 by Best Roadside Service

The fall semester is right around the corner and college students are headed back to their dorms or maybe off to college for the first time.

This is an exciting but scary time in both the recent high school graduate’s life as well as their parents’. For the first time, these young adults will be on their own, and many will be hundreds or even thousands of miles away from home.

If your new college student will be driving him or herself off to college, much of your anxiety may be about how safe their travels will be. Whether they’re hauling all of their stuff off to their dorm, or just driving around campus and their new town, they can run into a plethora of issues that mom and dad won’t be around to help out with. Flat tires, keys locked in the car or bigger mechanical issues can cause a student to miss class or worse – get hurt or stranded.

As stressful and scary as this time can be, there are ways to keep them safe, even if you’re far away. Best Roadside Assistance offers affordable roadside service plans for individuals that help keep them safe and on the road. Consider purchasing a plan as a gift for your graduate and send them off to college safely.

What We Offer College Students

Our service plans cover any issue they may experience. Our call center is owned and operated in the US, so when making a service call, they will always get a friendly representative who will send help immediately. In fact, our average response time is just 34 minutes.

College students are not always the most prepared or organized, so if they lock their keys in their car, we can get them out of a bind. If they run out of gas, we have them covered and can deliver up to three gallons of gas, for free, right to their vehicle. We will even replace a lost car key up to $100, in case they happen to misplace that too.

And if they’re driving a less-than-reliable vehicle, our roadside service plan can assist there too with towing services, battery jump start and even fluid delivery. In addition to these services that will keep them safe, we also provide benefits to our customers that will allow them to have some fun. Travel discounts and mapping services can help them get to their spring break destination safely and within budget.

A Best Roadside Service plan is the perfect gift for back-to-school college students. It keeps them safe while keeping your stress level down. Send them off safely this year, and sign up today.