Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll operato

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Chris56000
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Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll operato

Post by Chris56000 »

I have a question that, hopefully will always be a hypothetical one!

If you were involved in a serious accident on a continental toll motorway that seriously damaged or wrote off your vehicle, or the only driver was taken ill and unable to continue off the motorway, would you be financially penalised by the toll operator, or alternatively by the motorway police for that area?

(I believe breakdown insurance will cover the only driver being taken ill in many cases!)

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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by JohnnyMo »

I assume this is the same as a breakdown where a tow truck is required. Do you need to pay the toll for the tow truck ?
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by Ruperts Trooper »

I assume the answer is yes, but it should be covered by your comprehensive insurance and/or breakdown cover - which I guess means no if you've only got third-party insurance and no breakdown cover.
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by Chris56000 »

I'll double–check with my insurer but I believe I am covered comprehensively for short trips up to 90 days total.

I'll also ask them if I need a Continental Breakdown cover extension!

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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by Mark Hewitt »

Chris56000 wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 18:48 I'll double–check with my insurer but I believe I am covered comprehensively for short trips up to 90 days total.

I'll also ask them if I need a Continental Breakdown cover extension!

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This is all a good question and something I'm going to have to research for my trip to France next year!
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by exiled »

From autoroutes.fr

https://www.autoroutes.fr/en/breakdown-service.htm

That is the price list to repair or remove a vehicle from a French toll motorway as defined by French law. AIUI if you have an approved breakdown service provider but it is not the operating company itself you will have to pay its toll fee on top of that. Accidents are probably similar, but both autoroute.fr and a couple of the companies I looked at are silent on fee costs because of liability issues.
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by KeithW »

One thing I always did when driving abroad was buy European Breakdown Cover, not least because there was an English speaking helpline, I have a smattering of French but am not to hot on the Germanic languages, one thing to be aware of is European rules on equipment you need to carry such as high vis vests, warning triangles etc. Worse comes to worst the provider I used could recover the car to the UK.
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by jnty »

KeithW wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:16 Worse comes to worst the provider I used could recover the car to the UK.
Worth checking terms for this kind of cover as, from the experience of others, some providers offer only economical recovery. In other words, if recovery is going to cost £2000 but the car is only worth £1500 they will write off the car and pay out its value rather than towing it all the way back to the UK. Makes a certain sort of sense but probably not what most people envisage if they were banking on being able to drive it to work the following week.
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by baroudeur »

exiled wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 08:32 From autoroutes.fr

https://www.autoroutes.fr/en/breakdown-service.htm

That is the price list to repair or remove a vehicle from a French toll motorway as defined by French law. AIUI if you have an approved breakdown service provider but it is not the operating company itself you will have to pay its toll fee on top of that. Accidents are probably similar, but both autoroute.fr and a couple of the companies I looked at are silent on fee costs because of liability issues.
Breakdown and accident recovery services on French autoroutes can only be performed by authorised companies with costs based on a published list of charges and those costs are always payable at the time.

Edit: As in the UK accident recovery will need the involvement of the vehicle insurer for arranging any further movement.
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by baroudeur »

jnty wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:52
KeithW wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:16 Worse comes to worst the provider I used could recover the car to the UK.
Worth checking terms for this kind of cover as, from the experience of others, some providers offer only economical recovery. In other words, if recovery is going to cost £2000 but the car is only worth £1500 they will write off the car and pay out its value rather than towing it all the way back to the UK. Makes a certain sort of sense but probably not what most people envisage if they were banking on being able to drive it to work the following week.
I think you'll find all European breakdown cover has a similar clause in the t&c.
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by jnty »

baroudeur wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:38
jnty wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:52
KeithW wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:16 Worse comes to worst the provider I used could recover the car to the UK.
Worth checking terms for this kind of cover as, from the experience of others, some providers offer only economical recovery. In other words, if recovery is going to cost £2000 but the car is only worth £1500 they will write off the car and pay out its value rather than towing it all the way back to the UK. Makes a certain sort of sense but probably not what most people envisage if they were banking on being able to drive it to work the following week.
I think you'll find all European breakdown cover has a similar clause in the t&c.
I don't know how these things are quoted - perhaps they take into account the value of the car - but it does feel slightly arbitrary. If I paid a courier a disproportionate amount of money to ship a chair from Spain and they arrived with a stack of cash and told me that I could go and buy an equivalent one from the IKEA down the road I'd be pretty annoyed. I think most people would expect that if if they've paid for recovery cover, it doesn't matter if it's a £100k sports car or a £100 banger, the recovery is what they've paid for. I suppose there's an aspect where a more expensive car is less likely to break down but that seems like quite a loose correlation.
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by ChrisH »

We had a burst tyre on the French autoroute a few years ago, on a tolled section. The tow truck came and towed us to the garage off the motorway, but I had to pay the toll (for the car) on the exit from the motorway. No escape from the péage!
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by KeithW »

baroudeur wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:38 I think you'll find all European breakdown cover has a similar clause in the t&c.
At the time I went my car was a 1 year old Rover 75 :)
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by KeithW »

baroudeur wrote: Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:16 Breakdown and accident recovery services on French autoroutes can only be performed by authorised companies with costs based on a published list of charges and those costs are always payable at the time.

Edit: As in the UK accident recovery will need the involvement of the vehicle insurer for arranging any further movement.
AA European Breakdown cover terms and conditions apply - see here
https://www.theaa.com/staticdocs/pdf/in ... itions.pdf

The most salient points are these

AA European Breakdown Cover contains vehicle and health restrictions. You must be able to make the
following declaration for yourself, anyone travelling with you, or anyone else on whom the trip may
depend.
As far as I know the following apply:
a. My vehicle is eligible for AA European Breakdown Cover and has been regularly serviced and
maintained according to the manufacturer's instructions and I am not aware of any electrical,
mechanical or other vehicle problem which may interrupt my trip;

b. If my vehicle is specially adapted for me or for any member of my party, I will make the AA
aware of this before I travel.

c. Five Star Cover (Section 5 only – Replacement Driver) I am not aware of any pre-existing
medical condition that could affect the ability of the main driver or drivers to drive my vehicle.


We cover the following vehicles
Vehicles under 11 years of age at date of travel:
- Private cars and motorcycles over 200cc
- Light vans and minibuses
- Campervans and motorcaravans

Vehicles 11 years of age or older
- Private cars and motorcycles over 200cc – older vehicle supplement must be paid.

- Light vans and minibuses – no cover
- Campervans and motorcaravans – no cover.

Existing AA members may apply for special
consideration.

If cover is exceptionally agreed, older vehicle supplement must be paid.
No cover
under Five Star Annual Cover or Five Star Group Cover
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Re: Hypothetical Q – if you had a serious accident on a Continental toll motorway would you be penalised by the toll ope

Post by Vierwielen »

In about 1994 I was travelling from Frankfurt to my home in Hampshire via Dunkirk. I was due to catch (I think) the 18:00 ferry. At about 14:00, when I was somewhere near Mons (Belgium), I heard a horrible noise from my gearbox. I stopped, found a roadside telephone and got them to call out the motorway assistance as per my AA travel policy. A truck arrived, my car was taken to Dunkirk (the Belgian truck had no problem crossing into France) and my car was towed onto the ferry. I messed the 18:00 ferry, but was loaded onto the midnight ferry. At Dover, an AA truck was waiting for me and got me home by 04:00 that morning and dropped my car off at the local garage. (I knew the garage owner). The AA picked up the bill for the transportation, but I had to pay for the repairs - about £10 for the part and £100 for labour.

BTW, I was not on a toll road.
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