STATE Insurance is reminding New Zealanders to check their car batteries ahead of any trip.
The advice comes after a spike in calls State Roadside Assistance received over the two-week Christmas and New Year period. The insurer’s data shows the service responded to almost 1,300 callouts over the holidays, with 45% of the calls related to vehicle batteries.
The insurer detailed that common issues include batteries being too old to retain charge (67 callouts), batteries needing replacement (49), and batteries needing a jump start due to lights and electrics being left on too long, or other electrical issues (454).
“Batteries are definitely the reason most people call up for assistance,” State’s Sean Craigen said. “When so many people are travelling around the country for day trips to the beach or campsites, the state of the car may be last on the priority list.
“The good thing is that generally most batteries carry warranties of up to three years so we encourage vehicle owners to take advantage of this and get a check-up or a new one fitted before hitting the road,” he noted.
Other problems encountered by many drivers, as reported by State Insurance, include tyre punctures, blow outs or damage (57 callouts), needing tyre replacements (78 callouts), and having two flat tyres at once (six callouts). Broken cambelts, overheated or flooded engines, faulty ignition switches, locked steering wheels and 100 pairs of keys being accidentally locked inside vehicles also made it into State Insurance’s call centre.
