Our Coverage of Larne

The road name and direction of travel, the make, model and rough age of the vehicle, whether it is electric, hybrid or automatic, what has gone wrong, and whether you are somewhere you can safely wait. That is enough for us to send the right unit first time.

Yes. Alongside Larne we regularly attend Drinns Bay, Glynn, Magheramorne, Mill Bay, Mullaghboy, Mounthill and the rest of the East Antrim coast, all as part of our County Antrim coverage. If you are between two of those, give us the road rather than the village and we will find you.

Larne is a working ferry port, so traffic through the town runs in waves around sailings and the harbour approaches can be busy at times of day that have nothing to do with the usual rush hour. A breakdown on the A8 side of Larne is a dual carriageway job. One on the coast road north of the town, or on the harbour approaches, is not, and the two need different planning.

If you have cover that includes this, use it, and we will say so rather than talk you out of it. Check what your policy actually includes first, because home start, roadside and recovery to a destination are often priced and limited separately.

Once you are on the A8 you are on dual carriageway, which changes the rules entirely. Everyone out through the nearside, behind the barrier, hazards on, and nobody on the offside for any reason. Get as far to the nearside as the vehicle will go, hazards on, everyone out through the nearside doors and behind the barrier or well up the verge. Do not attempt any repair on the offside, and do not stand between the vehicle and oncoming traffic while you wait.

We do not publish a blanket response time, because it would not be honest: Larne is reached by the A8 dual carriageway to Belfast, the A2 Antrim Coast Road heading north, the A36 west over the hills to Ballymena and the harbour approach roads, and the real answer depends on the traffic on those roads at that hour and on where our nearest available unit is when you ring. What we will do is give you a realistic time when we take the call, and tell you if it changes. If you are somewhere genuinely dangerous, say so immediately, because that moves you up the list.

That is normal and it is not a problem. Describe what happened rather than diagnosing it: what you heard, what the dashboard showed, whether it cut out or would not start. That is usually enough for us to bring the right kit.

Stay nearby if it is safe, because we may need the keys and someone to confirm where the vehicle is going. Nearby means off the carriageway and behind a barrier where there is one, not sitting in the car waiting.

Along the coast the practical answer is that it has to move. A car half off a narrow carriageway is a hazard rather than a parked vehicle, so we plan to clear it on the visit instead of leaving it and returning. We will give you a straight answer for your actual location when we see it, rather than a general rule that may not fit.

Larne is served by the A8 dual carriageway to Belfast, the A2 Antrim Coast Road heading north, the A36 west over the hills to Ballymena and the harbour approach roads, and we cover all of them. Telling us which one you are on, and the direction you were travelling, matters more than the address, because a job on a fast road and a job on a village street are handled completely differently.

Usually yes, with the permission of whoever controls the land, and provided the ground is firm enough to work on. Soft ground after rain is the constraint far more often than access is.