RAC launches specialist misfuelling patrols

A specialist patrol team has been launched by RAC to aid the 400-plus* motorists who accidentally put the wrong fuel in their car on a daily basis and make the expensive mistake of misfuelling.

RAC Wrong Fuel Recovery is a service available to both RAC members and non-members that aims to get drivers back on the road faster after misfuelling. The patrol vans are fitted with specialist equipment to extract the contaminated fuel and flush the fuel system on the spot with motorists driving away, on average, 40 minutes after the patrol arrives at the scene.

However, if motorists do run the engine the damage could be a lot more costly to put right as well as keeping the vehicle off the road for at least a day and the vehicle would need to be towed to a garage to assess the extent of the damage.

A recent study by the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) reported an estimated 150,000 misfuelling cases per year, which generate approximately 7.5 million litres of contaminated fuel annually².

A number of RAC Fuel Patrols are currently operating in London, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Buckinghamshire, the South West, Liverpool, the South Coast and part of the West Midlands. The service will continue to expand over the next few months to cover additional misfuelling hot spots.

David Bizley, RAC’s technical director, says: “Misfuelling is a common and costly issue – every three and a half minutes a motorist makes this simple but expensive error. RAC Fuel Patrols are now able to drain and flush misfuelled vehicles at the roadside to get motorists back on their way more quickly.

“However, if the engine has been started the damage can be devastating, with repair costs of anything up to £6,000, depending on the vehicle model, but RAC Fuel Patrols are also able to recover vehicles to a garage using their rapid deployable tow system. In addition to resolving misfuelling call-outs, RAC Fuel Patrols can attend other breakdowns – a service unique to RAC.”

Notes to editors

* Figure based on the finding by the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) which found that 150,000 drivers misfuel annually, resulting in a daily average of 400 cases - 10 May 2010 http://www.biba.org.uk

² Based on an average tank capacity of 50 litres

³ A study carried out by BIBA to highlight the dangers uninsured motorists can face - 10 May 2010 http://www.biba.org.uk