In most cases, it is not the towing companies that provide roadside assistance. In fact, it is usually the other way around, with companies that offer roadside assistance offering towing services as well.

The car towing and tow truck industry can actually be quite highly specialised. That is, a towing company will generally own a fleet of tow trucks and employ a series of drivers, and towing is what they do. On-road assistance would not be in their purview. They would, however, generally be contracted by roadside assistance companies to perform their car towing functions.

This is because towing a broken down car is not the only reason for employing the services of a tow truck. While many towing companies are often hired to tow a vehicle of some sort (cars, motorcycle transports, caravans, boats, trailer and trucks), there is also a whole other section to the industry. That is machinery transport: portable on site toilets, elevated work platforms, small earth moving equipment and other construction-based equipment. It is common for towing companies to expand into these areas rather than just in car towing or towing vehicles.

That said, when many customers think of towing companies, they do not think of the actual company that provides the towing, but indeed the service provider for their roadside assistance. Roadside assistance providers generally require you to pay a yearly subscription fee in order to have access to all their services when you need them. This is a lot like insurance, should your vehicle fail you on the road, your roadside assistance company provides you with benefits so your life isn’t severely disrupted.

Services provided by roadside assistance companies can include:

• 24 hour 7 days a week assistance
• Towing over limited distances
• Free emergency petrol or diesel
• Money for alternative transport and accommodation if very far from home
• Money for legal assistance
• Money for personal effects and clothing
• Fatal injury benefits
• Battery replacement
• Flat tyre changing
• Accommodation and car hire discount programs with membership at certain hotels, hostels and car hire companies across the world.

The towing services offered by these roadside assistance companies are generally not actually provided by them, but instead contracted out to actual towing companies. This also applies to many of their other services. However, you can usually be assured that, if you purchase a membership with a trusted roadside assistance company, their contracted towing company is of a high-level.

Before you subscribe to any company, make sure you fully read any terms and conditions and understand everything that is inside it. If anything does not sound appropriate, or you do not understand it, make sure you seek legal assistance.

There’s nothing worse than being caught in the middle of the road with your car broken down and nothing you can do to get home. Roadside assistance will usually help you not only with your car towing, but also all the peripheral requirements that come from it. Towing companies however will simply tow your car, to either a depot – usually in the case of emergency towing – or to a location you specify.