London Red Route Breakdown – What would you do?

henrygregory

Just a scenario, but what would you do if your car had a flat tire and you were in dense traffic in a red route?


You are not supposed to stop at any time, but there is not much choice. Do you pull over and just call the AA and wait for them to come, or would you be expected to call the police?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.:money:

duchy

You'd call the AA -if the police want to take an interest you'll soon know.

Wh05apk

Call the AA? Would you not change a tyre yourself? it only takes 5 minutes?

henrygregory

Wh05apk wrote: »

Call the AA? Would you not change a tyre yourself? it only takes 5 minutes?

I would not consider myself suicidal enough to attempt that. The roads I travel on are notoriously tight and we have to share them with those dangerous people called motorcyclists.
The curbs are very high in some parts of my journey, so I don't think it would be possible to jack my car up unless I was parked half in the next lane which would cause even more traffic chaos.

happybiker

If you are that worried about having a puncture , why don't you have a puncture sealant such as 'Slime' or 'OKO' injected into your tyres as a preventative measure. I have been using it for years in cars, campervans, trailers, caravans and Motorcycles without problems. Just check your tyres for damage on a regular basis.

I now consider additives such as these essential for modern cars that don't carry spare tyres. Aside from the inconvenience of having to wait for a breakdown service, they might well prevent a puncture from becoming an accident

Tiexen

I'd drive on and stop in a safe place-or nearest tyre fitter - new tyre will probably be cheaper than the fine

Stooby2

You won't get a fine for breaking down on a red route. If it's one of the really major routes you'll find the TFL cameras will often pick it up fairly quickly and get a police red route unit to run down and see what the problem is. They may tow you off to a side road if that's possible, or wait and fend off if you can make repairs yourself, i.e. change your tyre.

henrygregory

Stooby2 wrote: »

You won't get a fine for breaking down on a red route. If it's one of the really major routes you'll find the TFL cameras will often pick it up fairly quickly and get a police red route unit to run down and see what the problem is. They may tow you off to a side road if that's possible, or wait and fend off if you can make repairs yourself, i.e. change your tyre.

Thanks Stooby and all the other posts.
The reason I ask is that two weeks ago, I drove all the way through a red route with a flat tyre. I had no idea at the time and wondered why the car kept stalling and acting odd. As a result I have caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

Next time, I don't think I would want to be driving on a flat as it has quite expensive consequences. Obviously, if I could, I would switch the wheel straight over, but that depends on the circumstances.
Good to know the police would come to help if they were available and not to stick a ticket on my window!

Thanks again for your help!

mgdavid

henrygregory wrote: »

....two weeks ago, I drove all the way through a red route with a flat tyre. I had no idea at the time and wondered why the car kept stalling and acting odd. As a result I have caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

Next time, I don't think I would want to be driving on a flat as it has quite expensive consequences. Obviously, if I could, I would switch the wheel straight over, but that depends on the circumstances.
.....

if you didn't know you had a flat this time, how will next time be different?

vaio

I'm guessing last time the OP notice the strange behaviour of the car but didn't know what was causing it, next time they will know they have a flat.

KTF

Generally when there is 'strange behaviour' you should get out and see whats causing it. Not keep driving around thinking 'this is a bit odd...'