New AA patrol vans for Sligo and Donegal

AA Ireland has launched three brand new fully yellow AA branded vehicles to cover counties Sligo and Donegal.

It has been just over seven years since the AA had patrol vans in the Sligo area.

AA Ireland’s roadside managing director, Simon Benson said the addition of the new vans is a great milestone.

“There is a big investment in the fleet, with close to 50 per cent being replaced with new vans. This keeps our fleet updated with new technology and improved co2 emissions,” he said.

Thirteen new vans will also be distributed to Galway, Limerick, Kerry and Cork, increasing the AA’s branded presence in these areas.

The vans are Ford Custom Transits fitted with Compact Recovery Trailer (CRT) and the latest free wheeling hub to enable total lifting of vehicles.

Noel Keogh, AA Ireland’s rescue operations manager, added: “The new Free-Wheeling hub will and does form part of an EV solution for roadside recovery. Currently, if we need to recover an EV it has to go up on a flatbed truck.

“With the new hub, the transit can tow directly which will improve our service and also reduce third party garage costs. It also frees up our Flatbed trucks for other recovery jobs.”

AA Ireland last year reported 121,180 motor breakdowns, with 30 per cent of these due to vehicles not starting, and 13 per cent because of a flat battery.

December 2021 accounted for nine per cent of the year’s workload, likely due to weather conditions. The AA is warning motorists of the importance of car maintenance all year round, but especially during winter.