A MUM who was left trapped on the side of a motorway for hours with her newborn baby has claimed the RAC said they “were not a priority”.
Jessica Townsend Jones says she was driving along the M40 from Mid Wales to Kent with her three-month-old Ottilie when her car suddenly “felt like the brakes had been put on” and struggled to accelerate.
After missing the turn for the services at Cherwell Valley Interchange, the 27-year-old says the car would not accelerate on the slip road and she was forced to pull over on the hard shoulder on February 14.
The mum-of-one claims she contacted the RAC, her breakdown cover provider, who initially told her she would be treated as a priority.
But when she later received a link from the recovery service, Jessica says the estimated wait time shown was six hours.
The pub manager, who is currently on maternity leave, says she rang the RAC again and raised concerns about being stuck at the roadside with her three-month-old daughter for so long.
Jessica claims she was told she was not a priority because she wasn’t in a live lane – leaving her “breaking down” and suffering a panic attack.
Jessica’s husband, who was at home, contacted National Highways on her behalf and patrol staff came to sit with her at the roadside.
After waiting in the “freezing cold” for two and a half hours, Jessica says she and baby Ottilie were eventually towed to the services by a third-party recovery company arranged by National Highways.
Jessica believes she should have been treated as a priority by the RAC because she was travelling alone with her baby, and says the incident has “bumped her confidence”.
Jessica, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: “I was on hold to the RAC for 35 minutes to let them know I was there [stranded on the motorway].
“I was initially told by the first person I spoke to that I was priority with my three-month-old and that they would send through a link and it takes you to a website and tells you the estimated time of arrival.”
After discovering the estimated wait time was six hours, Jessica says she called the RAC again.
Jessica said: “I called them back and was like six hours? That’s not good enough?
“I broke down and I had a massive panic attack. I was in absolute hysterics, it was horrible.”
Jessica says she felt “terrified” and “hopeless” about being “abandoned” at the roadside.
Jessica said: “I said to the RAC I don’t understand how you don’t deem us as a priority.
“I understand I’m not in a live lane but my baby can’t regulate her temperature, I can’t feed her – six hours isn’t good enough.”
The new mum believes she should have been treated as a priority.
Jessica said: “I know that I wasn’t the highest priority – someone in a live lane or in a crash is way more of a high priority than me because I was safe on the roadside, but I would have liked a little bit more urgency, considering I had a three-month-old.
“If I was on my own, I would have sat there and waited for six hours.
“Having a baby, I was getting really panicked – we were stranded.”
Jessica’s husband contacted National Highways on her behalf and patrol staff came to wait with her at the roadside before arranging for her to be towed to the services by a third party.
Her husband later drove more than two hours from their home in Kent to collect her and Ottilie from the service station.
Jessica says the incident has put her off travelling alone with her daughter in the future and she is currently trying to switch her breakdown cover provider.
Jessica said: “It has absolutely traumatised me and put me off travelling on my own with my daughter on the motorway in the future.
“I’m a relatively new driver and it’s completely bumped my confidence.
“I’ve spoken to my insurance provider and the only breakdown cover they work with is the RAC.
“I’ve said to them that I’m either gonna have to leave them and drop the breakdown cover and go with someone else or leave them go with another insurer completely because I don’t feel safe being covered by the RAC.”
A National Highways spokesperson said: “We want everyone using our roads to get home safe and well and every breakdown is an unwanted inconvenience.
“Our advice is to plan ahead, check your vehicle before heading off, and make sure you have provisions on board just in case your journey doesn’t go to plan.
“If your vehicle develops a problem on your journey, leave the carriageway at the next exit or pull into a service area if possible.
“On this occasion our teamwork helped to ensure there was a happy ending.”
An RAC spokesperson said: “We’ve apologised to Mrs Townsend-Jones for not getting to her sooner and not communicating more clearly.
“We’re covering all her costs along with an additional token of goodwill to say sorry for what was a very stressful situation.”
