Were you stuck on the side of the road this week with a flat tyre or battery?
Well chances are you weren’t the only one as new NRMA figures revealed that 12 cars breakdown every day in Penrith, making it the 17th highest suburb for breakdowns across NSW.
Paul Mifsud has been working for NRMA Roadside Assistance for 28 years and said despite the advancements of motor vehicles, the main reason for the high number of breakdowns is the result of most people in Penrith still owning older cars.
“Cars have changed but, in this area, you still get a lot of older vehicles and the population out here is the other reason, there are a lot of people who’ve moved out west so it is a very busy area,” he said.
The most common cause for the breakdowns in Penrith was a flat battery, with flat tyres coming in second, both of which Mr Mifsud said could be prevented if people kept on top of their vehicle maintenance.
“There is a couple of things they can do, one is regular maintenance so make sure your car is serviced regularly,” he said.
“The other thing too is for yourself to actually check the oil level, water and to pump your tyres up regularly.”
The statistics were released several weeks after the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom announced an electric future with a ban on the manufacture of petrol cars by 2025 and 2040 consecutively.
Now the NRMA is taking a lead role in preparing Australia for an electric vehicle future as it announced plans last week to build the nation’s largest electric vehicle charging network.
NRMA Executive General Manager of Motoring, Samantha Taranto, said that while the global car fleet would change dramatically over the coming decade to become more high tech, automated and electric, this year’s breakdown data showed batteries, tyres and computers would always need repair.
“Regardless of how technology advances cars, it is clear from these statistics that there will always be a need for roadside assistance because while there are fewer moving mechanical parts in a car, they still break down,” she said.
Before hitting the road this summer, the NRMA recommends that people get their car serviced to avoid any unwanted stress.
Lauren Suttie
Lauren Suttie is the Weekender's General & Community News journalist.