Richard Yarrow’s opinion for Start Rescue providing low cost Vehicle Recovery cover.
Are we entering a new ice age? Will we get lots of snow every winter from now on? Do we need to invest in better equipment to keep the country moving? Would it be good economic sense to accept that drivers will be stranded at the side of the road and need their car breakdown service once in a while?
I can’t see how, in the current financial climate, it makes sense for hundreds more snowploughs and gritters to be bought, only for them to sit idle for the bulk of the year. Surely anyone can see that’s a barmy idea. But we need to do something and the answer has got to be that we take a more flexible approach to our heavy duty plant.
Here’s what I mean; tractors don’t need to just be tractors. They should be designed and engineered so they can have accessories such as snowplough blades easily attached to the front, using a universal mounting system that’s common to all manufacturers. The same with diggers, earthmovers and other commercial vehicles. The Government then pays for the attachments and distributes them to a network of farmers, hauliers, construction companies, whoever across the country. When the bad weather comes, employees of these businesses get mobilised by the Department for Transport and get paid for their time.
If it sounds like a military operation, perhaps it should be. Think of these people like the old Home Guard. Or why not get the Army involved with its larger vehicles keeping roads clear? There are bases full of squaddies all over the UK.
Breakdown Cover from 
