RAC plc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| RAC | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Public Limited |
| Founded | United Kingdom (1897) |
| Founder | Royal Automobile Club |
| Headquarters |  U.K. |
| Key people | Debbie Hewitt (MD) |
| Industry | Automotive Services |
| Services | Breakdown Assistance |
| Website | www.rac.co.uk |
RAC plc (Better known as just the RAC) is a breakdown company in the United Kingdom supplying a range of products and services for motorists.
Contents |
[edit] History
The RAC was originally formed in 1897 by the Royal Automobile Club to assist members with roadside assistance and other motoring services.
The ever growing RAC started to introduce uniformed mobile patrols around the roads of Britain during 1901 with the patrolmen wearing a uniform not unlike the military police of the day, right down to tailored jodhpur trousers. The patrolmen even had an army like rank structure with corporals, sergeants and officers. Mounted on motorbikes with sidecars containing a tool kit, spare fanbelts, assorted engine hoses, radweld fluids and metal cans of spare petrol they were usually located on standby at laybys and major road junctions. Until around 1930 the only way the controls could contact the mobile patrolmen was by telephone, so they waited by public telephone boxes for the callout, later they were equipped with basic early radio sets for two way contact with their local headquarters.
In 1912, following the lead of the competitor organisation the AA, the RAC undertook an extensive programme of installing RAC roadside telephones on laybys and junctions of the main trunk roads all over the UK for motorist members to summon help. Although they were never as numerous as AA boxes there was a measure of cooperation between the two motoring clubs, keys fitted both types of box and members messages were passed on. The telephones were installed in locked boxes painted in royal blue with the RAC logo badge mounted on the top of the box. Members were provided with a key to the boxes when they joined the club. Members' cars were identified by a metal club badge usually affixed to the radiator grill and the patrolmen would come to attention and salute as a member drove past. Members were provided with an annual handbook that contained a road map of the UK with the location of all RAC telephones marked on it, together with lists of local RAC approved garages and hotels.
Motorcycle patrols gave way to small vans during the 1960s and by 1970 the last motorcycle patrols had been phased out. RAC telephone boxes were withdrawn from service when they were eclipsed by wider telephone ownership and by the 1990s only a handful still operated on holiday routes in the West Country. The advent of mobile phones made the need for roadside telephones redundant and the last of the RAC telephones were removed from service. Roadside assistance is now provided by a modern fleet of larger, well equipped vans and a fleet of recovery vehicles.
Until the early 1970s the RAC did not have a formal Onward to destination Rescue service for members. If the patrolman was not able to complete the repair at the roadside, arrangements were made for the nearest RAC approved garage to tow the vehicle and repair it at the owner's cost, with the owner being responsible for making their own arrangements for travel by public transport or hired vehicle. This only changed in the 1970s with the first of the low-loading vehicle transporter fleet and the introduction of a higher membership tier of the Rescue service. Similarly until the early 1980s the roadside assistance service was limited to locations away from home, which only changed with the addition of an At Home level of service.
In September 1999, the RAC was sold by the members of the Royal Automobile Club to another motoring service company called Lex Service plc , who then renamed themselves RAC plc in 2002
During March 2005 Aviva plc acquired RAC for around £1.1 billion. Norwich Union is part of Aviva and helps the acquisition by bringing the two companies together to form more products and services for their customer base. [1]
The main competitors to the RAC are The AA, Green Flag and insurance companies that offer breakdown cover which is usually provided through one of these three main companies.
[edit] Products and Services
The following shows the range of products and services the RAC provide.
[edit] RAC Rescue
[edit] United Kingdom
The RAC has more than 1,500 patrols that attend around 2.5 million breakdowns each year, this includes overseas breakdowns with RAC Europe. The RAC cover 7 million roadside assistance customers with 2.2 million individual members and 4.5 million corporate customers. Their breakdown assistance centres operate 24/7 and deal with approximately 4 millions calls a year.
[edit] Europe
RAC Europe is additional breakdown cover for U.K. customers that travel abroad to Europe. RAC Europe covers 47 European countries which will provide English-speaking Incident Managers available 24 hours a day to assist the RAC customers.
[edit] BSM
BSM is the UK’s largest driving school, with over 3,400 driving instructors. It is also one of the largest driving instructor training providers.
[edit] RAC AutoWindscreens
RAC AutoWindscreens provides automotive glazing repair and replacement service for a range of kinds and types of windows, they have 145 fitting centres throughout the U.K. and is the only automotive glass replacing company to have a factory to make their own laminated windscreens.[citation needed]
[edit] RAC Direct Insurance
RAC Direct Insurance offers car, motorcycle, van, home and travel insurance.
[edit] RAC Legal Services
RAC Legal Services provides advice and representation to customers involved in personal injury claims.
[edit] RAC Loans
Now that Aviva plc has teamed up with the company it has began to provide loans through the RAC brand name. However, in December 2007, RAC announced that they would no longer be providing loans from 1st January 2008 and are dissolving their partnership with the Co-Operative Bank, with whom they had provided the loans.
[edit] RAC Vehicle Checks and Examinations
RAC Vehicle Checks and Examinations conduct vehicle checks that show if a car has been stolen, written-off, has outstanding finance or previous plates, is at risk of being sold illegally, and that its number plate and chassis number correspond. RAC Vehicle Checks are powered by HPI. With RAC Examinations,inspectors will conduct physical checks on the car to make sure it is mechanically and structurally sound.
[edit] HPI
HPI provides a check on a car's status - assessing whether a car has been stolen, written-off, clocked, has outstanding finance or previous plates, is at risk of being sold illegally, and that its number plate and chassis number correspond. It will also check whether the car's documents are genuine and give a current market valuation. Though predominantly used by the motor trade, increasingly private customers are also using this service.
[edit] Travel and Traffic Information
RAC provides travel and traffic services including online route planners, in-car navigation, traffic information via phone or the internet and help with travel documents.[2]
[edit] Awards
J.D.Power and Associates awarded the RAC for ranking the highest in satisfying emergency roadside assistance customers in 2007, this is the second consecutive year the RAC has held this title. They also have a Greenfleet Breakdown/Recovery Company of the Year 2006 award for the most environmentally friendly roadside patrols.[3]
[edit] Team RAC
In 2006, RAC teamed up with WSR (West Surrey Racing) to form Team RAC and to race in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) with two MG ZS cars. The racing cars are liveried in RAC's corporate orange and have achieved a number of wins.
In Colin Turkington and Tom Onslow-Cole drove BMW 320si E90 cars for Team RAC in the 2007 Dunlop British Touring Car Championship, but now Stephen Jelley drives the second car.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- RAC vehicle breakdown cover
- RAC European breakdown
- RAC windscreens
- RAC vehicle checks
- Photographs of RAC and AA roadside telephone boxes
- UK vehicle recovery history
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.racnews.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=13 RAC History
- ^ http://www.racnews.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=20 RAC Products and Services
- ^ http://www.rac.co.uk/web/awards/ RAC Awards
