Road trip with ease thanks to Smart Breakdown from the AA
We absolutely LOVE a road-trip and, thanks to the new Smart Breakdown from the AA, we can continue to explore the UK with ease.
Packing up the car and heading off on a random road-trip is something we relish in. Living in the UK, we might not be blessed with the weather, but we are blessed with so many beautiful destinations to adventure too.
Whether it's rugged coastlines or mountainous ranges, our roads offer routes to a wealth of awesome places ready to be explored, and come rain or shine, we're always keen to get out and about.
There's a lot of things to consider (just like going on a trip abroad) when you road-trip. Is the car road-worthy? Are the tyres pumped? (to be fair, these are things to consider for the everyday too!). Do you know where the nearest petrol stations are on route? Of course, then there's things like making sure you have car snacks (V important), water, a good playlist, everything you need packed. The list goes on...
One of the most important factors when it comes to road trippin' is yep, you got it, breakdown cover. No matter how new or reliable your car is, you just never know. The last thing you want is to find yourself broken down somewhere in the Scottish highlands and with no cover. Enter, Smart Breakdown.
What is Smart Breakdown?
Smart Breakdownis the newest offering from breakdown help, the AA. It's a small device that stays plugged into your car, and once linked up to your smartphone thanks to its app, can magically tell you what fault your car is experiencing if you do happen to breakdown. You know those confusing warning lights that pop up? Well it's designed to help you decode those.
It's all about understanding what your car is really saying. So if it's ahead of a road trip - or any trip to be honest - this plugged in device can help you assess how urgent the warning light fault is.
Or, if one of those dreaded lights start glowing as you're cruising down the motorway, then the device is also designed to help you on the spot. Which means, you can just check your app to see what the problem is and what to do about it.
How does it work?
Smart Breakdown works thanks to a small device that connects to your car’s on-board diagnostics system. This will run a test and deliver information directly to you via the AA app.
For such a small device it really does pack a proactive punch. It also keeps you informed of issues that could lead to a breakdown by transmitting fault information. This could be anything from battery health to problems with the ignition coil or dashboard warning lights.
Anything that it senses going wrong will be sent to your smart phone which means you can keep ahead of the curve when it comes to your car. Great, hey!
Our recent road trip to Norfolk
We're currently ticking off some of Britain's greatest drives and Norfolk was next on our list. The weather hasn't been the best in the UK of late but thankfully we were treated to a dry weekend which meant, road trip time.
As much as we love living in London, we really love leaving it too. Exploring the country and seeing the seaside is always such a treat as you can get a bit lost in crazy city life. So we packed up our bags, made some snacks and of course, didn't forget our new Smart Breakdown device, as you just never know.
We left at 5am on a Saturday morning and headed for Norwich. A road trip always kicks off with an early start in our books. The roads were long, flat and incredibly scenic. We could see why this route was a popular one with UK travellers. It really had us longing for a camper van.
We breezed through Norwich stopping for a coffee before ending up in Salhouse. This literally could have been from an Agatha Christie novel. Cute and quaint - exactly what you want to see from a UK road trip.
The end goal was the beach, it might have been cloudy but there's something to be said for sea air. Our next stop was Cromer Pier, annoyingly it did start to rain so ice creams and a slow mooch were out of the question. Our annoyance at the weather was short lived as soon as we saw a rainbow appear, mind.
We decided to dart into a couple of charity shops and enjoyed a scone at the local bakery before heading down to the final leg of the road trip: Wells-next-the-Sea. We parked at Wells-next-the-sea car park and made our way down to a beautiful sandy beach.
It was a typically British scene as even though the sky was grey, the beach was packed. Dog walkers in abundance and families flying kits and building sand castles. It made for a very lovely last stop to our Norfolk road trip.
Where can you buy Smart Breakdown from the AA?
It’s easy! You can buy it online. You don’t have to already be an existing AA member, you just need to select Smart Breakdown when you go to choose your cover.
Although, if you are already an AA member then just give them a call – 0800 316 4691. This cover isn’t just great when you need a little extra security on road trips - it’s for everyday use too. It’s brilliant to know that you have a wealth of information at your fingertips at any time you need it.
Matt drives a lot for his job and this awesome little device sits in his car at all times. The app is so easy to upload and start. Life is stressful enough so that extra peace of mind when you’re navigating the roads – for work or pleasure – is a great feeling.
It’s worth noting that on this particular road trip we didn’t break down. But that’s the beauty of this device. It’s there for you on any trip you make. Just keep it plugged in at all times, so whatever the journey (work, the Tesco food shop, off to visit family), you know the AA has your back.