RAC refused to help breakdown because they had dogs inside the vehicle

thorsoak

GwylimT wrote: »

I very much doubt those dogs were in crates, as the camper van was furnished there would be very little floor space to anchor the crates, in the photo there also isn't the slight evidence of a single dog crate. You can also see by the base size that it was a very small camper van, which further shows that it would be unable to house 12 dog crates, or 6 large ones if dogs were sharing.

The reason people cannot travel in a caravan/campervan unless in the cab is because it doesn't offer any protection during an accident, unfortunately they knew the risk they were taking, yet another reason why animal owners need to fully understand how to transport them properly and safely.

The campervan in question was 35' in length; the dogs were crated.

The RAC has - eventually - issued a statement, full of weasel words - they will have lost a lot of customers today. Any RAC member who travels with a dog is at risk of being abandoned.

pawsies

MatyMoo wrote: »

The missing dogs are safe, but 3 dogs died and 2 of the ladies have been injured.

I am not sure I would have been able to stand out on the bank for 3 hours (which is how long they had been there when the accident happened) in the dark on a cold November night with my two dogs. I think the constant lights and noise would have freaked them out and it would have been quite dangerous for them and me.

Sorry I meant all of the remaining dogs were safe. Although tbf my original post does state 3 died.

gettingready

pawsies wrote: »

No, the owners were on the hard shoulder where they broke down. They called the RAC who told them as the dogs were inside they couldn't help. 3 hours later a lorry collided with them.

Friends of mine were involved in an accident few month ago, they had 4 dogs with them but recovery took them to a safe place...

Poor dogs, poor owners

arbroath_lass

Sorry, I don't understand why they were there for three hours after the RAC refused to come out. Surely they could have arranged something in that time? A local rescue would have at least been able to remove the dogs from the camper then the RAC could have recovered it?

moggymutt

Arbroath lass, I certainly wouldn't like to pull up on a hard shoulder in such a case, it's not without danger for recovery lorries and trucks with lots of flashing lights.

Really can't see how the dogs could be an issue for the RAC unless the owners were asking for the dogs to travel in the recovery truck- why couldn't they just tow the vehicle with the dogs in it?

pawsies

Main story here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2512356/Three-dogs-killed-woman-left-broken-leg-crash-M40.html#ixzz2lVH8e53w

corbyboy

thorsoak wrote: »

The campervan in question was 35' in length; the dogs were crated.

The RAC has - eventually - issued a statement, full of weasel words - they will have lost a lot of customers today. Any RAC member who travels with a dog is at risk of being abandoned.

According to the article:

A spokesman for the RAC said they were en-route to recover the caravan when the crash occurred.
He said: 'We are extremely saddened to learn that a young woman has been injured and that three dogs have lost their lives as a result of this incident.
'We had despatched a specialist recovery vehicle to attend, but unfortunately the accident occurred while the vehicle was en route to the scene.'

Are you saying this is incorrect?

BonandDom

As far as I am aware - having followed this on FB - through some friends of friends. The vehicle broke down, RAC were called out (and typically sent a man with a van) they were unable to repair the vehicle and from that point it gets a little cloudy.

Not sure if the RAC told the 'girls' they would get a tow truck out, and having waited in the past for 2.5 hours for truck to transport my poorly bike home, I can hazard a guess that this is what happened.

Having read the T & C's on RAC now, I think I will be contacting the AA to find out their take on recovering vehicles with dogs in it, not in retribution for this situation, but just to ensure that when I take my three boys out to the beach/forest/flyball competitions should I need thier service they will help.

System

If the campervan was 35' long then no wonder there was a long wait to get a recovery vehicle capable of handling it. Something that size is more in the realms of commercial vehicle recovery rather than run of the mill vehicle recovery

thorsoak

corbyboy wrote: »

According to the article:

Are you saying this is incorrect?

It is only half the story - the original Recovery patrol REFUSED to help and left them in a vulnerable position without referring the situation to the motorway police.

The RAC were told that the vehicle was a 35' campervan when the driver made the first call.