ANWB: 40 percent less roadside assistance across the border

Until now, the ANWB had to provide 40 percent less breakdown assistance to Dutch people in the popular European holiday countries this summer than last year. That says ANWB spokesperson Markus van Tol in conversation with NU.nl..

Many Dutch people have chosen to go on holiday in their own country this summer because of the corona pandemic. The ANWB already took this into account in advance, but it can now also be seen in figures: “We are already at 94 percent of what we normally do in roadside assistance in the Netherlands and the summer is not over yet”, he says.

Traditionally, the ANWB has summer roadside assistance at work in France, the most popular holiday destination for the Dutch. Last year there were twelve and now there are six. Three road guards were stationed in Italy last year and none this summer. The ANWB had decided this in advance on the basis of the expected offer and that decision has worked out well so far, according to Van Tol.

Last weekend was the first black Saturday of the year in France. That traditionally means peak traffic on the French roads. Although the workload for the ANWB lagged 22 percent on the first black Saturday of last year, the emergency services of the Emergency Center still had 10 percent more Dutch people on the line with car trouble than the union had expected.

Adjust

According to Van Tol, it characterizes the unpredictability that the corona crisis entails. In contrast to previous summers, the ANWB must continuously focus on the holiday behavior of the Dutch who participate in the whims of the corona virus. “What characterizes the summer for us is that we have to make constant adjustments and look at how many people we think we need each week, while we were often able to determine the occupation normally for the summer,” he says. “That’s how the corona crisis makes this summer so much more distinct.”

The ANWB has carried out some 160 car repairs in France so far this summer. These are the five most common reasons why the Dutch called the roadside assistance:

1. The car stutters or loses power.
2. Lights that indicate malfunctions.
3. The car will not start.
4. Flat tire and no spare tire.
5. Flat tire and have a spare tire.