Calling out for a guardian angel?

According to a survey conducted by a UK-based insurance company, motorists will breakdown an average of 20 times in their driving lifetime. That means that drivers are likely to breakdown a minimum of once every three years.

Based on a survey of more than 2,000 UK drivers, the insurer devised a formula to calculate how often motorists are likely to breakdown over their driving lifetime. Motorists can work this out by factoring the number of kilometers they travel per year and the age they started driving.

0.0352 (the average number of breakdowns per 1,000 km) multiplied by the average number of km’s driven per year divided by 1000 and multiplied by 77 (life expectancy age) minus 18 (the average age motorists begin driving).

According to Robyn Farrell, managing director of 1st for Women Insurance: “This survey proves that your car will break down at some point. It’s inevitable. For women especially, this could come as a nasty and often dangerous surprise, especially if they are on an unfamiliar or deserted road and its getting dark.”

To help and protect stranded damsels in distress, 1st for Women recently launched a project in Cape Town called Guardian Angels.

This project was initially piloted in Gauteng and based on its success and popularity, the decision was made to extend the project to Cape Town.

The Guardian Angel project is a breakdown assistance initiative which was designed to assist and ‘guard’ woman motorists if they have a mechanical breakdown, a flat battery or flat tyre in a dangerous place.

1st for Women’s Guardian Angels, who drive 320i BMW’s, can be found in and around major arterials in Cape Town including Helderberg, Central Cape Town and the Southern suburbs, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The aim of the Guardian Angel project is to ensure the safety of the women of Cape Town.

“With our Guardian Angel project, help is just a phone call away. By calling our roadside assistance number a Guardian Angel will be dispatched when a woman motorist feels unsafe to either assist with the problem or to “guard” the woman motorist until help arrives. We are confident that the women of Cape Town will appreciate and welcome this fantastic initiative,” concludes Farrell.