The increase in traffic congestion makes it a very unpleasant experience to break down with no cover.

Imagine being in a town or city center, on a busy roundabout with traffic passing by you on each side, when you find yourself in a vehicle breakdown situation. It probably wouldn't be safe to get out and push the car off the roundabout and, unlike a few years ago, not many people would be willing to stop and offer help.

So, what would you do?

How about breaking down on a fast motorway? If you don't have breakdown cover and you're miles away from home, you'll probably need to call a local recovery company to come and rescue you. When you eventually contact one, they'll be more than happy to get your car onto the recovery vehicle and get you off the motorway.

However, be prepared for a shock when you have to pay! A recent conversation with one such recovery agent revealed that the typical cost was around ?140 (inc.vat). This is just to get you off the motorway, however, and then the real fun begins!

It'll cost extra to take you to a garage or to take you home. Here's the cruncher though; if you can't pay there and then, you'll be asked to step off the recovery vehicle while your car stays on! Your car will be taken to a storage compound and you'll be left to make your own way home. This by itself would cause inconvenience for most people, but this is what happens when people get caught out by not having breakdown cover.

And as if that's not enough, to get your car back you'll have to pay the recovery fee plus the transport costs to the compound. Plus, there's the compound fees; around ?100 release fee plus daily costs of around ?12 to ?15.

Of course, you then need to pay recovery charges to get your car home or to a garage and then get the car repaired. Phew!

So, if in the unfortunate situation you do break down, be sure to prevent a disaster like this! If you don't have breakdown cover and you haven't got the means to pay on the day, you would normally be looking at a bill of around ?300 just to get your vehicle off the motorway.

Is it really worth all that hassle when, for much less than a tow off the motorway, you could get 5-star treatment and in most cases your car would be repaired. If it couldn't be repaired, you would be recovered back to your home (from anywhere in the UK). This would apply to your vehicle and up to seven passengers.

This is not just the once, by the way, but for up to five times each year that you are a member.

Joining RAC is much easier and much more affordable, wouldn't you agree?