Under 40% Very Likely to Offer Assistance to a Broken Down Motorist
Less than 40% of motorists would stop and offer assistance to a driver who has experienced a car breakdown according to a recent survey.
In response to a survey of over 5,000 motorists undertaken by AA Rescue, the breakdown assistance wing of AA Ireland, 37.28% of respondents indicated that in the event of encountering a broken down vehicle they would be very likely to offer the driver assistance.
Meanwhile, a further 34.32% indicated that they would be somewhat likely to offer assistance but would have some reservations in doing so.
Of those surveyed, over half indicated that concerns about their personal safety would be one of the key factors preventing them from offering assistance to a broken down motorist. 17.45% of respondents ‘strongly agreed’ that they would not stop out of fear of jeopardising their safety with a further 36.87% ‘somewhat agreeing’ this was the case.
“It’s almost a case of Murphy’s Law that a breakdown will happen at the worst possible time, for example when you’re travelling with young children or on your way to an airport to catch a flight. It’s important that motorists have a plan in place for what they’ll do if they experience a breakdown, as we’re coming into a time of year where the combination of reduced daylight and poor weather conditions can make finding yourself stranded at the roadside even more dangerous,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “Ultimately people need to prioritise their own personal safety, which is why we advise against attempting repairs at the roadside without professional assistance, but given how stressful a breakdown can be even offering your phone or alerting Gardaí to the breakdown can make a significant difference.”
Unsurprisingly, the survey did find an increased willingness on the behalf of respondents to offer assistance to an elderly driver who had suffered a breakdown.
When asked about a hypothetical breakdown affecting an elderly driver, 56.02% of respondents stated they would be very likely to stop and offer assistance, with a further 29.11% describing themselves as somewhat likely to do so.
