Green Flag

Telematics: How new Alert Me is helping to make cars clever

Green Flag Alert Me

Breaking down could become a thing of the past with telematics

Technology that only a few years ago would have seemed like a dream is now coming to a car near you. The latest can predict if your car is going to break down. It’s estimated it could save British drivers 38,000 hours waiting for roadside rescue with their conked-out car.

Green Flag Alert Me plugs into the car’s On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port. From there, the matchbox-sized device monitors the car’s battery and electronic brain. This enables it to record changes such as the battery failing to hold its charge before the driver would ordinarily notice them. If it does see changes, Alert Me reports it to Green Flag over the mobile phone network. Green Flag then notifies the driver via a smartphone app. Continue reading →

James Foxall 2 Comments

Quiz: Guess the Green Flag tools and beat Joe Swash’s score

Guess the Green Flag tool

Joe Swash has been on a road trip of a lifetime, touring the Scottish Highlands in a vintage Land Rover as part of Green Flag’s Scenic Route series of inspiring drives. But when a car is almost as old as its driver, things will inevitably go wrong under the bonnet.

When cars breakdown, getting to the root of the cause is half the battle to swiftly getting it back on the road. That’s why every Green Flag breakdown van carries hundreds of tools, each with a very specific purpose. It means if a driver’s motor splutters to a halt – as Joe’s Land Rover did several times – the Green Flag technician should be able to fix the problem at the roadside.

The tools vary from the simple to the highly complex, costing from pence to hundreds of pounds. And several of them came to the rescue of Joe Swash, although he wasn’t too sure what many of them were for.

Take our quick quiz and see if you can guess the Green Flag tools and identify more of them than Joe could…

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James Mills 4 Comments

Scenic Route: Buying old Land Rovers – the Green Flag expert’s guide

Fans will tell you buying old Land Rovers can be a fun and rewarding experience. Old versions of the model we now know as the Defender were the original ‘go anywhere’ vehicle. Ever since its introduction in 1948, the Land Rover is one of the few cars that can truly lay claim to having a cult following. It’s no surprise then that Joe Swash picked a Land Rover for his epic road trip for Green Flag’s Scenic Route series.

Joe’s is a 1985 Land Rover 90 Soft Top, the short wheelbase version fitted with what appears to be a poorly erected tent covering the back seats and load bay. You need a sense of adventure to own and drive a car like Joe’s. It’s also ideal to have a little mechanical knowledge or, at the least, the enthusiasm to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, learning to fix faults as they arise. And they will – as any Land Rover owner will tell you. Continue reading →

James Mills 1 Comment

Scenic Route: Joe Swash exclusive – learning to drive and my first motoring memories

The Jump and ex-Eastenders star Joe Swash is the first in a series of celebrities to take Green Flag’s Scenic Route. The series of adventures around the UK and Europe has been designed to celebrate the freedom of driving and encourage drivers to take the road less travelled. In this Joe Swash exclusive interview, the London lad talks about his life and how important motoring has been.

Why did you leave it so late to learn to drive?

“I lived in central London and public transport is amazing there. You can get round so much easier and quicker than in a car. Also I started doing Eastenders when I was 20 and we were ferried around by drivers all the time so I got lazy. Then before I knew it, I was in my 30s and still couldn’t drive. But I had my boy and I couldn’t keep on picking him up from school by cab…”

How does Joe Swash describe his driving?

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Scenic Route: TV star Joe Swash explores wild Scotland by Land Rover

With the Easter holiday around the corner and the summer break on the horizon, millions of us are planning to get away from it all. To fuel inspiration for great adventures in the UK and Europe, Green Flag has hit the road with an exciting new series of road trips. And some of the country’s best-known faces will be sliding into the driving seat and sharing their experiences with you.

Called Scenic Route, the journeys are easy for anyone to take. All you need is a car and a thirst for adventure. In the first Scenic Route road trip, actor and presenter Joe Swash, best known for Eastenders, I’m A Celebrity and, most recently, The Jump, reveals how the Scottish Highlands can take your breath away and get the adrenaline racing.

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Hybrid battery problems: How they affect petrol-electric cars

Hybrid battery problems

Toyota Prius started the petrol-electric revolution (Picture © Toyota)

Hybrid battery problems courtesy of wiring faults are becoming a common cause of breakdowns with the increasingly popular petrol-electric cars. The old cliché is that modern cars have more computing power than the first Apollo moon rockets. It’s true but it also means they have more wiring. And the more complex the electronics, the greater the capacity there is for something to go wrong. Here we look at how battery problems can afflict cars that use electricity to supplement petrol or diesel power.

What kind of breakdowns hit hybrid cars?

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James Foxall 7 Comments

Breakdown causes: Why Green Flag is called out

Breakdown causes

Sensible drivers have breakdown cover and ring to be rescued

For some drivers, Friday the 13th really will be unlucky. They’ll be the thousands of car owners whose vehicles break down. Obviously cars are very complex machines with a lot of different components working together. At Green Flag we’re proud of our ability to get members’ cars going again when we attend breakdowns. And last year we helped out nearly 200,000 people. Here are the most popular reasons for calling out our technicians in 2014.  Continue reading →

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Green Flag promises to help Father Christmas – whoever he may be

Father Christmas

“Is this how you put fuel into one of these?” A Green Flag patrol helps get Father Christmas’s stalled sleigh going again

Green Flag is spreading festive cheer for the hundreds of temporary workers playing Father Christmas this year. Any Santa who breaks down on his way to the grotto will be entitled to complimentary cover over the holiday period courtesy of the break down provider.  Continue reading →

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How Green Flag’s training keeps you and yours safe

Green Flag roadside recovery technicians are trained to the highest industry standard

It’s late, the traffic is bad and the kids are asking the perennial ‘are we there yet?’ Time to take a break. After filling up with fuel and picking up drinks and snacks, the final push for home can begin. And then it happens. As you pull away from the pumps, the car’s engine splutters, warning lights glow like Christmas decorations and suddenly you realise you’ve filled up with the wrong fuel. This is where Green Flag’s training kicks in.  Continue reading →

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Expert advice: how to cope with a motorway breakdown

Slow moving motorway traffic. But what happens if you break down in it? Read on to find out (Picture © Volvo)

Slow moving motorway traffic. But what happens if you break down in it? Read on to find out (Picture © Volvo)

Motorways might be safe roads to drive on, but they can be a nightmare to break down on. What should you do if your car conks out in the fast lane? Where’s the safest place to stand? Who do you contact and what will they do? This answers all those questions and more.

For specific advice on what to do if you break down on a Smart motorway, read this article.
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Mike Shaw 4 Comments

Expert advice: know the local laws abroad

white car on road Green Flag driving abroad

Driving abroad involves much more than simply coping with being on the wrong side of the road; there are some standard laws that must be obeyed, regardless of your destination. For example: you must have your driving licence, insurance and vehicle registration documents wherever you travel. And cars must be equipped with GB stickers and headlight beam converters.

It’s also a good idea to carry your passport. You will need identification if the police stop you. But although we’re supposedly one happy European family, other laws and rules differ from country to country. Whether it’s equipment you need to pack or regulations you must obey, it’s a minefield of legislation out there. Follow this quick and easy country-by-country guide so you don’t get caught out.  Continue reading →

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