The organisation, which held its annual assembly in November, put on the table the issues affecting the sector, mainly business viability and the fight against the deterioration of the service.
More than 100 companies from the roadside assistance sector met on 23 November in Madrid, convened by the National Roadside Assistance Alliance, which thus consolidated its leadership of the sector at a general assembly where various urgent issues were discussed affecting a sector in crisis, with several open fronts. The meeting was used to approve a new request to the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), calling on it to honour the commitment made to the sector in 2021 to promote a media campaign to prevent roadside assistance tow-truck operators from being hit by vehicles.
This is a commitment that the DGT has still not honoured to date, and which the Alliance considers essential to make drivers aware of the minimum distance of three metres they must keep from a tow truck when it is providing a service on the road. Although there are no official statistics, this year there has been a worrying increase, with around two incidents/people being hit per month.
In this regard, reinforcing the signage and protection of tow-truck operators is also crucial. The DGT has provided data on the launch of the Ministry of the Interior's State Register of Assistance on Public Roads (REAV), where 11,641 vehicles used for this activity are already registered; from 2024 they will have to be identified with the new V-24 sign.
“To regain enthusiasm”: the motto of the Alliance assembly
Under the motto “To regain enthusiasm”, the Alliance, which currently brings together the main companies in the sector (more than 300, owning a third of the Spanish fleet), addressed road policies and the challenges facing the immediate future at this meeting. Representatives of some insurers and assistance platforms attended; the DGT, for its part, was not at the event, having sent its apologies. The burning issue remains the precariousness of 24/365 services for which companies struggle to fill positions, given the shortage of professional tow-truck drivers and operators.
The organisation has already launched a social media campaign called “The Future of Roadside Assistance?”, which raised a possible future in which there were no tow trucks to help people left stranded on the road by a simple breakdown of their vehicle. It is a video that can be seen here, and which the Alliance wants to go viral to raise public awareness of this issue.
The professionals who coordinate the Alliance's work, as well as other figures related to the sector and road safety, gave their respective presentations at the meeting. Among them were Raquel Rodríguez, Filemón Galarza and Emilio Domínguez (Alianza Auxilio), Óscar Gamazo (former PP spokesperson on the Security Committee of the Congress of Deputies), Eduardo Prieto (CEO of Grupo Cárter), Estela Villalobos and Remigio Macarro (business owners in the sector, members of REAC), and Álvaro Novillo (Allianz Partners).
Xavier Martí, spokesperson for the Alliance, expressed his satisfaction with the growth in membership and the social presence of the Alliance, although it is “aware of how much remains to be done”. Martí explained the work the organisation was carrying out and reported on the open dialogue with insurers, platforms and motoring clubs. Despite the improvements achieved in certain service conditions, work remains to be done. Especially everything related to the effective indexing of service prices to the rise in fuel costs, which is moreover mandatory.
The National Roadside Assistance Alliance is made up of the following regional and national associations and business organisations: ABEAC (Balearic Islands), ABEAC (Basque Country), ASCA (Catalonia), AMEAC (Madrid), ASCALEAC (Castile and León), ASEDA (Andalusia), ASEGA (Galicia), AGRUAXA (Salamanca), ASEXTEAC (Extremadura), GRUPO CARTER (National), CEPAS (National), FEGRUAL (National Federation), AGREGA-GRÚAS and REAC (National Group).