BreakDown Mobile App – Android and iOS – Emergency Roadside Assistance in India
emergency roadside assistance
How to stop your car safely when there is a brake failure?
Sunday late afternoon – When I was driving down with family from Valluvarkottam heading back to home @ Velachery, just near Habibullah road, I realized that my brakes were not working. Fortunately I was in a very slow speed. I pumped my brakes, so sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not. Family had a little panic, but I was cool and calm. Slow and steady I stopped the vehicle in a silent street in Habibullah Road.
Here, I need to eat my own dog food, when there is no food!! 🙂 I opened Breakdown Mobile App and I was able to reach out to a car mechanic and got the help I needed. All safe and good. We all went back home via a taxi, after an ibaco ice cream time. Remember, it is Sunday late afternoon. That means – all shops are closed and no garages work this time, because this is the time they take off or even get drunk and sleep 🙂 (Apologize, if I generalized, but in many cases it happens). The fault is – Brake Booster Assembly and that has to be replaced.
Anyway, I went home and researched on how to stop safe, when your brakes fail suddenly. Some safety tips are here –
1) Do not panic, when such thing happens. Being cool will help handle the situation.
2) Take off your leg from the accelerator
3) Down shift your gears to lowest gear (say 1st gear)
4) Apply hand brake
5) Pump your leg brake, and that helps sometimes to get back the brake.
6) Switch ON your Emergency lamp
7) Open your windows and alert other drivers, if all the above does not work to a slow stop
8) Look for a safe place to slow down and stop
9) If possible, move to a rougher surface or slight inclination to stop
10) If all does not work, Slowly touch or do a slight hit with a tree or something similar and stop.
Make your judgement and Be safe and keep the road safe!! Have a Safe Driving!!!
Is it better to choose the Automobile Car Insurance provider as the emergency roadside assistance vendor?
You go to the car dealer to purchase a car and you are thrown with choices to buy Automobile insurance with Emergency Roadside assistance service. Emergency roadside assistance can be bought in various ways – 1) As a free service for one or two years along with the car purchase? 2) As an additional cheaper option in addition to the Car insurance or 3) As a separate purchase of emergency roadside assistance from any major player 4) As a separate purhcase of emergency roadside assistance from a small player.
One of the options is definitely thrown at the customer and if the customer is well read, he/she will know many options mentioned above as the available options in the industry. Considering the above options – choosing a small player for emergency roadside assistance or large player for emergency roadside assistance is a different topic to be discussed in another article.
The point of discussion in this topic would be is to go with the separate player as the vendor for emergency roadside assistance, instead of same vendor for car insurance and emergency roadside assistance. The reason is because it is better to go with the expert in the field, rather than secondary specialty vendor. The car insurance vendor might be an expert in car insurance, but might not be in emergency roadside assistance. So, it is better to go with the separate provider of emergency roadside assistance in India.
Know about Emergency Roadside Assistance in India from PolicyBazaar
Be it a flat tyre, electrical fault or a minor mechanical defect, anything can disrupt your otherwise smooth car journey. It can be intimidating if your car breaks down in an unfamiliar territory. And this is when roadside assistance comes to your rescue.
It offers direct towing service in the event of problems, such as puncture, car running out of fuel and other emergency situations. Some insurance companies offer it along with the car insurance policy while such companies as AXA Assistance India and Cross Roads India Assistance offer roadside assistance as a standalone product.
How Roadside Assistance Works?
Call up your car insurer for help and it will send a crew to your rescue point in no time. Essentially all the services are free, however, in some cases you will have to bear the costs. For example, if you run out of fuel, you will have to pay for refueling.
Again, if your vehicle has to be towed, you would have to pay for it. Some companies also provide taxi assistance and hotel accommodation if need be. This facility is most useful during the monsoon season when a vehicle is more susceptible to breakdown.
What Does it Cover?
Roadside assistance offers a host of benefits to you, the policyholder. Here’s what you can get:
- Towing service
- Battery jump start
- Spare key arrangement
- Alternate battery/jump start
- Phone assistance
- Alternate transport/accommodation
- Emergency fuel
- Minor repairing
Factors to consider before taking Roadside Assistance Cover
- Age of the car: As a car ages, chances of mechanical problems tend to increase. As a result, most of the service providers are reluctant to offer cover for cars aged above five years. And, just in case they do offer the cover, the annual charges would be very high. Additionally, car manufacturers also provide roadside assistance packages along with their vehicle. For example, Honda’s Roadside Assistance costs Rs 1,780 in the first year, Rs 2,950 in the second year and Rs 3,750 after the third year.
- Number of services available: The cover may have a cap on the number of times a service can be availed. For example, TVS Automobile Solutions offers two types of roadside assistance packages—Gold Card and Platinum Card. The Gold Card holders can get emergency breakdown assistance six times in a year, while, Platinum cardholders get unlimited emergency breakdown assistance in a year.
- Plan prices: The prices for roadside assistance depend largely on the age of the vehicle and the number of services availed by the car owner. But another key aspect is your typical travel route. If you travel within your city, your plan may vary from someone who has to travel inter-city frequently. For instance, Cross Roads India Assistance offers a City Standard plan comprising six free services in a year and costing Rs 911. However, to get highway services, you would have to take either City Premium or City Platinum plan and pay Rs 1139 and Rs 1367, respectively.
Should you take Roadside Assistance Cover?
Roadside assistance is an essential aspect of your car maintenance and protection. In the unfortunate event of a breakdown or accidents, it is of great help. If you feel your current car insurance is able to take care of such emergency requirements, you can avoid buying a standalone policy. However, if your current car insurer does not give ample features in its add-on roadside assistance plan, go for a standalone policy.
Content Courtesy: policybazaar dot com
Emergency Roadside Assistance Market in India
In “Emergency Roadside Assistance” market in India as on date, there are startups coming up with apps past 1 to 2 years (crossroads helpline, helponwheels, strandd, mericar etc.,) for Emergency Roadside assistance, but they don’t have the massive India wide network like the major offline players like myTVS, Allianz, CARNATION, MAPFRE, EURO/INDIA ASSISTANCE, TLC Assist, AXA Assistance etc., and other few. This mobile app will be a good value addition for the offline majors mentioned above and an additional strength for it’s business. That is a combination of the strength of the offline major network/business and also the advantage of latest technology/startup. Sooner, the offline majors adopt the app, it would be better and not to have the possibility of any startup overtake the majors.
Please contact us if you need more details!
Major Emergency Roadside Assistance Players should catch up Mobile App Technology before other startups
In “Emergency RSA” market in India as on date, there are startups coming up with apps past 1 to 2 years (breakdown mobile app, crossroads helpline, helponwheels, strandd, mericar etc.,) for Emergency Roadside assistance, but they don’t have the massive India wide network like major players like myTVS, CARNATION, ALLIANZ, INDIA ASSISTANCE, AXA ASSISTANCE, MAPFRE and other few.
Adopting this mobile app will be a good value addition for the major players and an additional strength for it’s business. That is a combination of the strength of the major player’s network/business and also the advantage of latest technology/startup. Sooner, the majors adopt the mobile app, it would be better and not to have the possibility of any startup overtake the majors.
Shortcut would be is to just acquire one of the mobile app company or just the technology and grow the emergency roadside business.
Key Features of BreakDown Mobile App – For Emergency Roadside Assistance in India
(a) Reaching out to help is easy.
(b) Enrolling is easy for vendors using this app, using check-in feature (Just by pressing check-in button at the location of vendor, it is easy to add vendor by locating the GPS location of the vendor). Just that the executives enrolling/confirming the vendor should validate and make sure the small/medium vendor is good.
(c) Additionally, this app will have details about police, ambulance, hospital etc.,
(d) This app could classify the vendor in the map – like Tyre vendor, Battery supplier, Car Towing, Spare parts supplier etc.,
(e) SOS functionality to send SMS to all mechanics near by.
(f) Bulk upload of vendor data from MS excel spreadsheet itself.
(g) Locate the moving mechanic also (in addition to mechanic shop) like the way you see the taxi today with OLA, if they have smart phone). The moving mechanic or the vendor location can be easily seen in the map in the app and it is easy to locate.
No one tells you what happens when you are stuck on road with a mechanical problem – emergency roadside assistance
It is pitch dark, no one on the road, your car got stuck with a mechanical problem or the tyre burst and you are all alone in the no-man’s-land in a strange highway in India! What do you think?! Did that sound scary? What would you do?
Let us have the best case that you will be able to find a nearest mechanic using BreakDown Mobile app, an emergency roadside assistance mobile app for finding the nearest mechanic, police, ambulance or hospital. Given that you have reached out for help and the help is on the way, there will be an idle waiting time for about 15 to 30 to 45 to 1 hour, in different cases. Agreed?
What would you do for that time? How do you stay during this time period? If it is in highway, park your car away into the shoulder of the highway or completely away from the road, to avoid any vehicles ramming into you. If you have the emergency lamp ON in your car, that will help avoid any vehicle hitting you. Do not stand in the middle of the highway. Stand completely away. It is very risky for the ongoing vehicle and also for you. If there is a reflector glowing light or the STOP/reflector stand, please it on the road to convey that you are a standing vehicle.
Considering the accidents and mechanical failures, any local naughty kids or youngsters try to loot in some cases (though there are helping minds). These felony criminals might attack you or steal away your jewellery/money/valuables or any such actions on you. So, it is better to stay safe and better to stay inside the car, until you get a reliable help.
Hope this helps!!
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