Breakdown vehicles to be permitted to use red flashing lights for the first time - RAC statement

Further to our earlier statement here, and the ‘plan for drivers’ policy paper published today, RAC chief operations officer Dom Shorrocks said:

“This is an important milestone in the improvement of safety for the roadside assistance industry.

“We’ve long been calling for roadside assistance workers and recovery drivers, including our own, to be allowed to use red flashing lights alongside the customary amber ones to alert motorists to their presence. In fact, we again raised the issue with the Secretary of State in the summer, urging him to take action. This announcement is therefore very good news for our industry and for the drivers we serve as it will unequivocally improve the visibility of roadside workers and help save lives.

“There have been too many tragic collisions where lives have been lost involving stationary recovery vehicles at the sides of high-speed roads, and where more prominent red lights might have made a difference. As soon as the law is changed, we’ll make sure all of our teams can start using red flashing lights as quickly as possible.”