NEWS FLASH - DONNIE CRUSE SHOT
News flash ...
Wreckmaster founder Donnie Cruse has been shot dead in a tragic incident at his home in Grimsby, Ontario. The ex boyfriend of Donnie's daughter Shannon is alleged to have killed four members of the Cruse family before killing himself. Donnie's wife Mary, 23 year old daughter Shannon and six year old granddaughter Shaniya were killed in the incident on 14 June.

Donnie Cruse was a well respected figure in the recovery world as a recovery professional, trainer and author of books and videos.

A full report will appear in the next issue of Professional Recovery.

It's a specification rather than a standard, but that is splitting hairs.
The 24-page document launched last month by the Survive group is as near a set of industry standards as we are likely to see for some time to come.

Produced by the British Standards Institution, the document, PAS43 - Safe working of vehicle breakdown and recovery operators, details what can be described as best working practices. It is a wide-ranging document and it covers vehicles, equipment, safe working, conspicuity, training and customer service amongst other things.

The challenge now will be how those organisations which helped develop it - which include the leading car clubs and the industry's trade associations - put it to use. Will PAS43 become a reference which the clubs encourage their contractors to work to? Or will it be left to gather dust on the shelves of clubs and operators alike?

At its launch it was made clear that the industry's trade bodies will encourage all their members to sign up to the new code. This will be with the intention of ensuring that anyone whose car breaks down on the hard shoulder will be attended to by an operator living up to the code's recommendations.

The organisations involved in agreeing PAS43 through their work in Survive (Safe Use of Roadside Verges in Vehicular Emergencies) are shown in the accompanying panel. Sir Peter Baldwin, chairman of the Survive executive, says: "The original Survive report made an important contribution in revealing the full nature of the danger on the nation's hard shoulders.

"We regard the establishment of PAS43 as the most effective means of implementing Survive's recommendations to improve safety for breakdown and recovery operators and the motoring public which they serve.

"Their adoption demonstrates the determination of the industry to take practical steps to improve safety for road operatives and motorists alike."

And PAS43 isn't the end. This summer BSI plans to publish a new standard - BS7901 - which will contain specifications for recovery vehicles and recovery equipment. The introduction to PAS43 says that its requirements are "intended to increase the safety of vehicle breakdown and recovery technicians and road users". It notes that after a breakdown "the rapid and unhindered attendance of a vehicle breakdown or recovery operator is a means of minimising the resulting congestion and the associated dangers to the vehicle occupants". Which is something those in the industry know, but which those outside take for granted if they think about it at all.

And it says that the Survive group sees PAS43 as "the most effective means of implementing its recommendations for breakdown and recovery operators".

Much of what follows is common-sense stuff, but it still bears repeating. The document highlights areas such as the use of suitable vehicles with properly-trained technicians supported by the correct tools and equipment. It goes so far as to list the minimum amount of equipment necessary - and the list is a minimum which would present no challenge to any recovery business - as well as detailing some of the additional equipment which could be appropriate for different classes of vehicle.

It sets out requirements for proper inspection and maintenance of vehicles and equipment, and for proper records of defects and their prompt rectification. There is a section on protective clothing - again common-sense material.

The section on premises set standards, most of which professional operators already meet, though not all will have "waiting room facilities with suitable seating arrangements" (whatever that might mean). And not all operators issue their technicians with a photo identity card, which is one of PAS43's requirements.

On standard operating procedures PAS43 says that "management shall implement and maintain a quality management system, including traceability of operational activity", an area in which it points to ISO9001 as one approach to achieving this.

There is useful guidance on vehicle conspicuity, including the suggestion that retro-reflective material be used to pick out the outline of the rear of the vehicle - something which is easier done on some types than on others. Interestingly it says that for side markings blocks of colours are more effective than stripes, especially if fluorescent or retro-reflective materials are used.

Considerable space is devoted to safe working at the roadside, including a safe approach to a casualty vehicle, and recognised safe practices relating to the distance between the rescue vehicle and the casualty, and the adoption of the 'fend' position.

It reminds readers that once a vehicle breaks down it is a hazard and "the risk of it being involved in an incident increases the longer it remains there". It goes on: "Technicians shall be taught that to minimise the risk, either the vehicle shall be remobilised as quickly as possible or the vehicle and all occupants recovered from the scene as soon as possible, whichever is the quickest." And it highlights the danger to technicians of the 'sandwich position' - working between two vehicles.

PAS43 will be reviewed by BSI at regular intervals not exceeding two years.

For RRRA - which announced its own standards scheme last December - Pete Cosby says: "We will be going along with PAS43 but will use our own code of practice which is a fairly hard one. With road rescue this is a u-turn from our original idea that we would educate rather than enforce, but since the Survive group has brought in enforcement we feel we should go along with it."

RRRA's own scheme remains in place, but takes account of PAS43. "We are managing the finance so it's most economical for our members," Pete explains. "We're now prepared to push our scheme. We were waiting till all was in place."

Green Flag's Nigel Charlesworth welcomes the industry-wide initiative. "We've all worked together. We're all concerned about safety on the roadside. I would hope to see some reduction in the number of tragic deaths and accidents at the roadside," he says.

PAS43, Safe working of vehicle breakdown and recovery operators, can be ordered from BSI Customer Services on 020 8996 9001 - but it is expensive at £82 plus £3.70 for postage, unless you are a BSI member in which case it costs £41 post free.

Delta launches on-line support.
Delta Commercial Vehicle Services (DCVS) says it will cut vehicle off-road time after creating what it claims as an industry first in incident management.

It is launching a single-source solution for organising specialist commercial vehicle recovery, repair, claims handling and third party property restoration It says this is a unique move in commercial vehicle services as a complete incident management capability has never before been available from one company.

DCVS believes this streamlined process will help reduce the time it takes to get vehicles back on the road.

DCVS uses a national network of over 1,000 approved agents and manages more than 80,000 incidents a year. Its call out response times average less than 60 minutes, and over 80 per cent of repairs are completed at the roadside. Specialist services include refrigeration, locksmiths and tail-lifts.

Ian McKenzie, chief operating officer of Huddersfield-based FMG Group, which owns DCVS, says: "Minimising vehicle off road time and overall incident costs are the overriding factors in a successful incident management service. Companies have been striving to find ways of improving the process and we firmly believe DCVS has the leading edge."

The rescue and incident management services are provided 24-hours a day 365 days a year, supported by www.deltacvs.com. This gives password access to an on-line tracking, analysis and reporting system. On-line digital imaging enables fleet managers to remotely view accident damage to individual vehicles. The website also provides incident analysis including cause and circumstances, status of repairs and costs.

DCVS, re-branded from the former Delta Rescue business, says it is the UK's number one independent commercial vehicle recovery operator. It is used by some of the biggest names in the transport and haulage industry, as well as rental companies and tail-lift manufacturers.

Customers are charged for breakdown and recovery on a pay-as-you-use basis covering eight key services that are costed at pre-agreed national tariffs. The rescue and incident management services are provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The new on-line service has been launched as DCVS appoints a new operations manager, 37-year-old Stephen Moore from Motorway Tyres.

Green Flag gives 'best value'.
In a survey of top breakdown companies, Green Flag has emerged as providing the best value for money.

Some 64 per cent of motorists responding to a study by MORI Telephone Surveys described Green Flag as providing 'excellent' value for money. The score compared favourable with those of the AA (48 per cent) and the RAC (50 per cent).

Motorists who had called their roadside assistance provider in the last 12 months gave a rating of 96 per cent for the performance of the Green Flag mechanic attending the incident. People cited speed of response as one of the most important issues when choosing a provider and in this area Green Flag performed well, taking on average 35 minutes to attend its customers.

Loyalty with Green Flag remains high, with more than 80 per cent of members saying they were very likely to remain a customer when it came to renewing their membership. Green Flag motoring assistance has over 3.5 million customers and its Leeds control centre handles around one million calls each year. The company says that over 90 per cent of its customers get help within an hour.

MORI Telephone Surveys interviewed more than 1,000 roadside assistance customers divided equally between the main companies. The survey asked respondents to rate the key considerations in a vehicle breakdown situation and measured levels of satisfaction with the performance of the companies involved.

AA spends £22million on 'brand re-positioning'.
The AA has spent £22million - yes, that's £22million - on what it describes as a major 'brand re-positioning' with the theme of 'Just ask'.

There are no doubt many contractors who will be asking why just a fraction of that money couldn't be spent on better rewarding those business who support what for many consumers is the AA's core business - roadside rescue.

"With a record 12 million roadside rescue members, the AA has one of Britain's best-known brands," says AA managing director Roger Wood. "We also offer more than 160 other products and services, all available on-line or via the telephone - but few of our members take them up because they are largely unaware of them.

"The new campaign aims to encourage people to explore the help we can give them and provide access to the depth of practical know-how we can offer."

As part of the exercise the AA's website - www.theAA.com - has been redesigned. The 'Just ask' message was launched last month with a series of 60-second TV commercials.

Abandoned car crack-down.
Over 130 unlicensed and abandoned cars were identified in a one-day clean-up operation in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard by South Bedfordshire council and the police last month.

Five vehicles were classed as being sufficiently dangerous to require immediate removal and destruction. A further 16 were issued with notices giving their owners 48 hours to get them taxed or risk having them removed and destroyed. For the remainder the owners were given up to 14 days to get their cars taxed or face the risk of having them impounded.

Since April 2001 South Bedfordshire council has destroyed over 1,800 abandoned or untaxed cars.