NRMA roadside assistance contractors will be required to provide a code to customers to verify their identity, after a viral video revealed safety concerns.
Comedian Laura Johnston was inspired to campaign for change after her own “terrifying” experience while broken down outside Canberra.
After calling the NRMA for help late at night, she said a man in an unmarked vehicle with a broken window arrived.
When Ms Johnston asked him for identification to prove he worked for the roadside assistance provider, she said he behaved aggressively, swore at her and drove away, leaving her stranded on the side of the road.
There are no laws requiring companies to have their staff or contractors explicitly display branding or provide identification.
More than 27,000 people have signed Ms Johnston’s petition, calling for roadside assistance companies to introduce a verification system for customers and contractors.
“The main reason we need to make this change is that I was expected to just trust that an aggressive man who came to my car was who he said he was, based on his word alone,” Ms Johnston said.
“I don’t think that’s a safe situation to be putting passengers or drivers in.”
She has since met with NRMA chief executive Carolyn Darke who pledged to make a change.
“We chatted through what I experienced, there were lots of apologies and there was also a [commitment that they] we’re going to look into implementing a code system,” Ms Johnston said.
“I’ve so far got three companies that have jumped on board, and I’m looking at getting more this week.
“It’s about using codes that are already in place, like a membership number or a licence plate, so that we have something to verify.
“So it’s going to be hopefully an Australia-wide change.
NRMA rolling out ID code system
NRMA has confirmed its ID code system will be rolled out in the coming weeks, with technical work underway behind the scenes.
“As a member organisation that is committed to going above and beyond, this meeting allowed us to hear from Laura and share ideas on how we can make the identification process on the side of the road simpler and more efficient,” an NRMA spokesperson said.
“We will now begin the process of implementing these enhancements.”
An NRMA spokesperson says an ID code system will be rolled out for roadside assistance contractors and patrols in the coming weeks. (Supplied: NRMA)
RACQ, Queensland’s peak motoring body, has also bolstered its identification process after hearing Ms Johnston’s story.
“Our patrols and contractors are … required to conduct a mandatory phone call to the member introducing themselves and confirming their ETA,” an RACQ spokesperson said.
“As part of that mandatory phone call, we have implemented a new process for our contractors and patrols: they will now also provide their number plate details, make, model and colour of their vehicle to the member to give them further peace of mind that the person arriving has been sent by RACQ.”
From Wednesday, RACV members in Victoria will be able to request roadside assistance operators quote their unique RACV membership when they show up to help.
“This new identification option for members adds another level of security alongside our RACV-branded assistance patrol vehicles and RACV-branded uniforms or vests that drivers are required to wear,” said the general manager of automotive services, Makarla Cole.
“This new layer of safety is also in addition to members being able to follow the assignment and arrival of their Roadside Assist patrol request through the RACV app.”
Laura Johnston says she believes the policy change is the best way to protect vulnerable people that are broken down. (ABC News: Barrie Pullen)
Ms Johnston, whose initial video about her experience garnered more than a million views across TikTok and Instagram, met with staff from the federal government’s Office for Women.
The advocate said she had been thanked by lots of women, who have shared their own stories of feeling vulnerable and unsafe while accessing roadside assistance.
“But I’ll also point out that it wasn’t just women. There were also some six-foot [tall] men going, ‘Hey, I would have been terrified as well,'” Ms Johnston said.
“I genuinely believe [this policy change] is the best way to protect vulnerable people at the side of the road, when they’re broken down, so they have a way of knowing that the person there is actually there to help them.
“A lot use roadside assistance in metropolitan areas and we just didn’t know that in rural and remote areas we were often outsourcing to contractors who then didn’t have a way of verifying [their identity] or showing up in uniform or a branded vehicle.”