FEATURE
Motorcycles were first used in place of bicycles in 1920 , and in later years the Norton ES2 motorcycle combination became a highly regarded mainstay of the Club ’ s patrol service . Small vans then started to take over and had the obvious advantage of being able to carry more kit . Commercial derivatives of the Austin A35 and Ford Anglia became common sights in their RAC livery , while the adoption in 1957 of a radio system – which put headquarters in direct contact with patrolmen – had transformed the service ’ s efficiency and communications network .
The number of patrols and members was nonetheless falling as the 1970s dawned , but the recently installed head of Motoring Services , Eric Charles , oversaw a raft of changes . In 1973 came a Rapid Rescue service that was intended to quickly remove broken-down vehicles from motorways , and when the AA launched a Relay service that would transport a member ’ s car and its occupants to any destination in mainland Britain , the Club responded by introducing its own version – the Recovery Service – in 1975 .
By the mid-1980s , there was increased competition from new rivals such as the National Breakdown Recovery Club . The Recovery Service scheme had been a huge success , though , and Motoring Services was able to invest in a new
system known as Computer- Aided Rescue Services , or CARS . Launched in December 1987 and described as the ‘ most important technical advance in the RAC ’ s history ’, it revolutionised the service , and with new control centres springing up in London , Bristol , Walsall , Stockport and Glasgow – plus the adoption in 1989 of Mobile Data Transmission units – helped patrols reach more than 80 percent of breakdowns within one hour .
During 1998-99 , the breakdown service was ‘ demerged ’ from the Club and sold to Lex as RAC Motoring Services . Digital technology and the rise of the smartphone has obviously revolutionised communications , but the RAC has continued to innovate in countless other ways – from being the first breakdown service to launch an electric patrol van and developing mobile charging units for electric vehicles , to the ‘ all wheels up ’ towing system that means stranded vehicles don ’ t have to wait for a flatbed truck .
The technology and the vehicles may have changed beyond all recognition since those first patrols set out on their bicycles to help motorists , but that basic ethos has remained the same for more than 120 years . -
The last of the Norton combinations , soon to be replaced by vans .
Motorbikes came into service during the 1920s .
A new type of call box was designed in the mid-1960s , and was still in use in the 1980s .
A quick wheel change on the hard shoulder of a motorway in 1960 .
www . veterancarrun . com f / veterancarrun . I @ veterancarrun 29