As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, RACV is doing everything it can to keep its Members, fleet drivers, and employees safe and well. RACV continues to offer Emergency Roadside Assistance (ERA) to its Members, including battery replacement, during stage three and four COVID-19 restrictions across Victoria. To ensure the safety of all, the following measures have been put in place for when Members need help on the road.
Before the job
Members are asked a few screening questions to determine how RACV can safely assist them. This includes asking COVID health questions like:
- ‘Are you displaying cold or flu-like symptoms?’
- ‘Are you currently self-isolating?’
- ‘Have you arrived home from overseas in the past 14 days?’
- ‘Have you been in contact with anyone with a confirmed case of COVID-19?’
Completing the job
When RACV patrols arrive on the scene, they maintain a social distance of 1.5m and ask Members to do the same where possible.
All patrols wear personal protective equipment including gloves and antiviral face masks, and patrol vehicles are equipped with hand sanitiser.
Contact points during call outs have also been minimised. Members are no longer required to sign paperwork after a job is completed and RACV’s COVID Safe Plan is also provided electronically when a Member requests a copy.
RACV has also adopted more rigorous cleaning measures. Eftpos machines are sanitized after each use and ERA patrols wrap car keys in Gladwrap before using them.
Where appropriate, ERA patrols record Member details to help with contact tracing if any COVID-19 cases are reported.
As an added safety measure, Members are placed in taxis instead of tow trucks and patrols where possible and necessary.
RACV’s battery replacement service has always been popular with Members. ERA patrols are still able to test and replace batteries, where necessary, while following the correct COVID-19 safety procedures.
RACV Performance
RACV has not experienced any delay in call out response times as a result of COVID-19 safety practices.
Member Feedback
The feedback from RACV members has been overwhelmingly positive. Many are understanding of the unique situation and grateful RACV is diligently following the correct safety processes.
RACV Advice for Fleets
Traffic volumes across Victoria have dropped significantly as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions. However, ERA call outs have only dropped by approximately 20% per cent in recent months compared to the same time period last year.
ERA patrols have noticed a trend emerging with most call outs for battery failure. This is largely due to a lack of use and shorter travel distances caused by restrictions across Victoria.
RACV advises fleet managers to run their vehicles for approximately 10 minutes a week, depending on the vehicle type, to avoid the risk of a dead battery. This could save fleets thousands of dollars in potential battery replacement costs.
More information about RACV’s response to COVID-19 is available at https://www.racv.com.au/covid-19/product-updates.html.
