Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Modern Technology; Useful In A Car Breakdown Situation!

The wonders of modern technology; whether you love it or hate it, you have to admit it can be very convenient at times. Let’s take the mobile phone, for instance; it’s not so many years ago that they were the size of a brick and were seen as a ‘yuppie’ status symbol.

How times have changed. Now, most of the adult population, and the younger generation too, have at least one mobile phone. One for business and one for personal calls.

So, how does this help in a vehicle breakdown situation? Well, these days, if you find yourself in this position, it’s so easy to call for roadside assistance. What would we have done prior to mobile phones? We’d have had to walk a few miles to a telephone box or knock on somebody’s door for help! Who would want to do that nowadays?

Having said that, it doesn’t pay to be complacent – it’s still possible to break down on a country road in the middle of nowhere, leaving you completely stranded. While you might be familiar with your location, could you explain to someone over the phone exactly where you are, if indeed you had a vehicle breakdown and needed roadside assistance?

Would you know the name or number of the road you were on? Maybe not, especially if you’d taken a ‘B’ road or a minor road. And things might be worse if this happened in the middle of the night. In fact, any time after 5pm through the winter in the UK, and you might start panicking - it will be dark!

And if you’ve got the family with you, imagine how difficult it could become; you’re not dealing with an ordinary breakdown anymore, it’s become more than that – you’re now concerned about the safety of your family.

Well, this is where technology comes in handy. When you call RAC rescue services, that little mobile phone kicks-in as soon as you make the call, and enables satellite technology to locate your position to within a metre! You don’t even need to know where you are!

Just imagine that for one moment; sophisticated pieces of electronic equipment orbiting our planet, possibly hundred of miles above our heads, being used to communicate information back down to earth so that RAC can locate your position.

Every rescue patrol vehicle has Global Satellite System on board which is used to pinpoint your location using your mobile phone signal. This works to such a degree that they will be able to find you and your family at the click of a finger.

That’s the power of modern technology.

This system, used in conjunction with the latest mapping software, also allows the nearest available patrol to work out the best route to get to you. This means that the rescue patrol can be more efficient in their response, and save on fuel as well!

So, when it comes to a breakdown situation, it’s ‘thumbs up’ for modern technology! Thank goodness for RAC rescue.

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