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Severe weather
AA Special Operations Response Team
In recent years, the AA has been involved in flood and severe weather response in a number of locations - Gloucester and Tewkesbury in 2007 and many places since including York, Sheffield and Cumbria.
Historically the AA's involvement has been by default rather than by design. Today's legislation makes an ad-hoc response inappropriate and a more thorough approach essential.
The increase in severe weather events prompted the AA in 2008 to establish its Special Operations Response Team (AA SORT). This is a specialist resource equipped and professionally trained to undertake vehicle recovery in floods and other severe weather.
Operating in floods
The team was involved for a full week in the Cumbria floods in 2009, and throughout the extended snowy weather during the winters of 2009-10 and 2010-11, when they worked in co-operation with local Police, Fire & Rescue Services and the Highways Agency.
Among other incidents, the AA assisted the Highways Agency in reopening the snowbound A417 at Birdlip Hill, Gloucestershire.
Highways Agency Emergency Planning Officer Rob Llewellyn commented, "The AA assisted us in removing broken down and abandoned vehicles and helped motorists struggling in the snowy conditions thereby enabling us to reopen the road much quicker than would otherwise have been possible. The AA crews also provided us with detailed situation reports that were very useful in helping us to manage the incident."
Operating in snow
The AA is offering this service, on a 'pay for use' basis, to organisations with responsibility for flood and other severe weather response. As the UK's leading motoring organisation, the AA specialises in vehicle repair and recovery.
The AA SORT team offers a resource experienced in vehicle recovery which is trained and equipped to work in a flood zone. All crew members are fully trained, wear appropriate PPE and carry on-board decontamination facilities.
Pre-registration is required, for which a small one-off Registration Fee is charged. Thereafter charges are incurred only on use.
Andrew English spends time 'on a shout' with the AA Special Operations Response Team for the spring edition of the AA Magazine.
John Seymour, National Manager, AA Special Operations,
Fanum House
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG21 4EA
T: 07917 599040
E: john.seymour@theaa.com
Highways Agency winter campaign
The AA is supporting the Highways Agency's 'Make time for winter' campaign.
The HA has more than 500 winter service vehicles on standby but crews need time and space to get ahead of traffic and keep the network clear. You can help by planning your journey around the weather.
Sam Jones writing for The Guardian spent some time with the AA's Special Operations Response Team in December 2010 as they battled the elements in snowy Kent. In tow with the ice road rescuers »
Land Rover World (Feb 2010)
The February 2010 issue of Land Rover World Magazine included an in-depth feature on the work of the AA SORT team in Cumbria during the floods of November 2009.
Download the extract from Land Rover World magazine (2.33MB pdf document reproduced with kind permission of Land Rover World Magazine)
The February 2010 issue of Emergency Services Times also featured the work of the AA SORT team in Cumbria.
Download the extract from Emergency Services Times (100Kb pdf document, reproduced with the kind permission of Emergency Services Times)
(18 November 2011)
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